Castlevania: Nocturne of Ruin
by Draconic
Summary: Dracula's castle has risen again, and dark forces are at work. It's up to Jonathan, Charlotte, the Lecarde sisters, and two familiar friends to traverse Castlevania again and put an end to the horrific plans of an almost as familiar enemy from ages past.
1. Chapter I: A Request from an Order

**Castlevania: Nocturne of Ruin**

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><p><strong>This story contains spoilers for the Good Ending of <em>Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin<em>, and possibly also for _Castlevania: Symphony of the Night_. If you haven't at least completed _Portrait of Ruin_, do not read this fic. If you haven't played or watched them though, I would recommend that you do so immediately because they're both great.**

**Hello readers. After my _Zelda_ fic crashed and burned a few years ago, I've been little more than a ghost drifting through others' stories and occasionally leaving reviews. So, yeah, I've more or less been a lurker. However I've found that I was able to fix some stuff up, drop a bunch of things and now I may be able to rewrite my _Zelda_ story, using salvaged parts of the original and putting them onto something better. This…is not that story.**

**Now, everyone read this carefully, 'cause it's unlikely that I'm gonna say this again: I do not own _Castlevania_, its characters, or any of its content. They are property of Konami.**

**On average, I'm guessing that chapters will be about 2500-5000 words in length.**

**Also, I feel compelled to warn you that I may end up not finishing this story, although I really hope I _do_ finish it. Here's hoping (and hopping) that I retain the motivation required to complete this fic. Anyway, I'll stop wasting your time: On with the story:**

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><p><strong><strong>-<strong>  
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><strong>- <em>Castlevania: Nocturne of Ruin <em>-**  
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**Chapter I**

**A Request from an Order**

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><p>It was a hot, sunny summer's afternoon, much like all the other days that week. At a small playground in Ithaca, New York, a young man was lounging sluggishly across one of the park benches. He had blond hair and blue eyes; his face was a picture of perfect contentedness. He was wearing a sleeveless blue shirt, black cargo pants, and a pair of white running shoes. His white coat lay discarded on the grass beside the bench.<p>

Truthfully, it was actually a modified lab coat that he had used for chemistry class a year ago when he was still in grade thirteen, but he didn't really have anything better seeing as his favourite red jacket was far too hot for this weather. He had fixed the former lab coat up himself with the help of his best friend, making the sleeves narrower so that it would fit more snugly, and sewing in a thin, red lining just for fashion's sake.

The friend who had helped him with this project was sitting close by, rocking back and forth on a swing, her long chocolaty locks flowing out behind her. She was also wearing a sleeveless white top due to the heat and below that, a powder blue knee length skirt and matching sandals that wove around her ankles. Even as she swung, she kept a heavy looking book tucked beneath her arm. She came to a halt shortly and hopped off, going over to the boy and lightly poking him in the forehead.

"So, how do you like it here?

"It's too hot and this bench is uncomfortable," he moaned.

The girl huffed.

"You know that's not what I mean Jonathan! How do you like Cornell?"

"C'mon, Charlotte," Jonathan whined sitting up, "I'm just kidding. But I do like it here. It's nice to have a genius like you as a roommate. Although why the Lecarde sisters are here with us is beyond me."

Charlotte sat down on the bench next to him and opened up her book in her lap, "They may have been vampires for a few years, but they're still our age, it's only natural that they'd want to try and find something to study to start a career. Besides, if it hadn't been for their money, we'd be living in smelly dorms instead of the nice two-story house we've got."

It was true: Stella and Loretta had given them money for a house big enough for six people on the condition that Charlotte helped them get into Cornell University. It was an offer they couldn't refuse.

It had been three years since the two of them had defeated the vampire Brauner, Death, and his master Dracula, purifying Brauner's 'daughters' in the process. In truth, the sisters Stella and Loretta were the daughters of a friend of Jonathan's father; a man by the name of Eric Lecarde. He had appeared as a ghost inside the Castle of Darkness, and after learning his true identity, he requested that they try to save his daughters. Brauner had been an artist who had lost his daughters during the First World War, and had become a vampire shortly after the tragedy. He had deluded himself into believing that the Lecarde sisters were the reincarnations of his daughters, and to make sure they cooperated in his fantasy, he had turned them into vampires as well. Charlotte and Jonathan had come to the castle a few months afterwards, and upon learning the Sanctuary spell, they had, with some difficulty, purified the vampire sisters.

Charlotte gasped suddenly as she saw something on the pages of her book; "It says here that Baron Leon Belmont gave up his title, sword and status to rescue his fiancée Sara Trantoul. Isn't that romantic?"

"Belmont?" asked Jonathan. "Is that why you took the course on Romanian folklore? To read more vampire hunter stories?"

"Well, wouldn't you like to know more about the Belmont family?"

"Not really seeing as their whip is going to kill me someday…"

"That's hardly their fault! It's a side effect of a non-Belmont using the whip. Besides, if you don't use it too much, it won't affect you," Charlotte glanced at her wristwatch and stood up, tucking the book back underneath her arm, "I've got to go, I promised Maria that I'd meet her at the library today. I'll probably look up some of the vampire 'myths' about the Belmont family while I'm there. I want to know what exactly happened to Sara and Leon."

"Then I'll be going back to the house. I'll see ya later.

Charlotte invited Maria back to the house that evening. She was carrying a new book.

"So Mariabella," said Stella, getting her attention, "I was just telling Loretta about how weird Tristan acted on our date."

"Please Stella, its just Maria. But what was he like?" Maria asked, eager to hear the latest gossip.

Maria's whole name was Mariabella Fox, but she preferred the shortened version much more. She was a pretty girl with long blonde hair who always wore at least one article of either pink or green clothing every day. She also tended to a family of doves. The parents had died off when she was a girl and she cared for the chicks ever since.

"Let me guess," Jonathan said as he hunted through the cabinets for the hot chocolate mix, "He couldn't talk about anything except Amazonian wildlife?"  
>"Exactly!" exclaimed Stella, "Everything was 'scarlet macaws this' and 'tapirs that!' He just wouldn't talk about anything else! I can't remember how many times I tried to change the subject, but he kept finding ways of dragging me back to the goddamn jungle! How did you know, Jonathan?"<p>

"I tried doing a history project with him once. Guess how much he knew about Celtic mythology?"

"Less than nothing?" Stella guessed.

"He's never even heard of King Arthur. I mean how has he never heard those stories! Everyone has!"

"Well, he does know more about the Amazon than anyone else here—" Charlotte tried coming to the absent Tristan's defense but was quickly cut off by Jonathan:

"Yep, more than anyone _wants_ to know."

"Whatever, I'm sure he'll be a fantastic biologist or zoologist someday."

"We know," agreed Stella ruefully, "and if anyone gets in his way, he can just bore them to death. It's a real shame that such a cute looking guy could be so mind numbingly dull."

"That is just so…odd," said Maria.

They talked for hours. Maria eventually went home and the four residents went about their business. Midnight was approaching when a knock at the door was heard. Everyone went tense.

"Do you hear someone knocking?" asked Loretta worriedly.

"I'll check it out," Jonathan asserted.

"Then I'll come with you," Charlotte demanded, preparing to cast Ice Needles.

Jonathan ran upstairs to fetch one of his smaller weapons. The knocking continued.

Jonathan opened up the door, gripping his combat knife behind his back. Outside stood a boy with a strange symbol shaped like a thin sword on his cloak.

"Who are you, and what are you doing knocking on our door in the middle of the night?" Jonathan demanded.

The boy spoke up in an unexpectedly strong voice, if not somewhat out of breath, "My… name is Oliver. I'm here…to ask for your help. You see—"

The boy was interrupted as something big crashed to the ground in the middle of the road.

"Oh no! They've found me!" he shouted, "Hide!"

"I don't think so. We can handle this," Jonathan said confidently. A huge ball of fire collided with the front porch at that moment, utterly destroying it and sending Oliver diving for cover. Jonathan got his first good look at the monster that had attacked them. It looked like one of the dragon zombies that he and Charlotte had fought in the catacombs of Castlevania three years ago. This would be easy enough.

"Charlotte, get up close and get those Ice Needles ready!"

"Gotcha!" Charlotte ran up and started chanting.

The dragon seemed to respond as well. To Jonathan's dismay, it actually lifted off the ground, each beat of its wings sending gale force winds blowing at the pair of vampire hunters making them fight to keep their balance and interrupting Charlotte's casting. The area around the zombie's mouth illuminated as it prepared to loose another volley of fire. Jonathan jumped into the air and stabbed the dragon in the gut. Blood erupted around the wound. The monster roared, releasing its fire breath early, illuminating its pitch-black skin. And that was when Jonathan noticed something wrong: No smell of decay; Black-skin; _Blood_; this was no zombie. It was a living breathing black dragon!

"Charlotte! Run inside and get me a bigger weapon! This thing is _alive!_"

"Then there's no way, I'm leaving you out here alone! Cover me!" she started chanting again.

The dragon sucked in a breath and sent a flaming salvo flying at the two hunters. Jonathan did his best to take any attacks that would have hit Charlotte, hoping to God that she was almost ready. He got his wish with a cry of "Ice Needles!" as five giant lances of pure ice spun around and shot themselves at the dragon's throat. The monster howled in agony as the spears embedded themselves one after another in its neck. It tried to shoot another fire blast at them but only steam came from its mouth. Another hoarse cry later, and it tumbled from the sky, landing in the street with a resounding crash. It desperately tried to pick itself up off the ground, but Stella dashed out of the house holding her rapier, leapt onto its head and drove the blade through its skull. The dragon tried to roar; a hollow and pathetic sound, and moments later it burst into flames, slowly disintegrating until the only evidence that it had ever been there was the immense pile of ash laying in the middle of the road.

"Well done," said a cold voice. Jonathan felt a chill run down his spine and seconds later a woman seemed to materialize out of the shadows across the street.

"Who are you?" Charlotte demanded.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Stella shouted furiously, "Look at what you've done to our—" she choked. As the woman stepped out into the light of the streetlamp, they noticed that the woman had a rather disturbing skin tone. Either the three of them were all having the same hallucination at once, or the newcomer's body was purple. She was wearing a heavy set of red robes and held a scythe unsettlingly reminiscent of the one Death carried. "For now you may call me Camilla. However, I don't think you'll need to for very long. You won't survive long enough to get in our way. You'll be taken care of soon enough."

"Who are you working for?" Jonathan asked.

"I don't feel as though I'm under any sort of obligation to tell you that, _human_." She grinned savagely, for a moment revealing a set of razor sharp fangs before she melted back into the shadows.

"Get inside and lock all the doors! Make sure the windows are closed also!" ordered Jonathan. He pointed at Oliver who was crouching behind a bush, "You. Inside. Now. You're going to tell us exactly what's going on here."

Oliver nodded and ran inside the house.

After the house had been completely secured, they all sat down at the kitchen table staring at Oliver expectantly.

"So, why did you come find us?" asked Charlotte.

"I came here to ask for your help," Oliver responded quickly, "You see, there's another vampire problem. We know that you just destroyed Brauner as well as Dracula three years ago, but there's a new threat: Have you heard of the vampire Walter Bernhard?"

Stella and Loretta shook their heads while Jonathan simply looked clueless. Charlotte on the other hand suddenly lit up like a lightbulb. She pulled out the new book she had brought home from the library;

"I know about him. He's the one who kidnapped Sara Trantoul right? Back in the Eleventh Century?"

"Among other things," Oliver confirmed.

"Wait, are you telling me that Leon doesn't finish him off?" asked Charlotte.

"Oh no, don't worry; Walter's dead and shouldn't be coming back. The problem is that he has a grandson, and ever since Dracula came to power, the Bernhard Clan has been trying to reclaim the castle that they feel Dracula stole from them. Although Walter's daughter was killed centuries ago, his grandson Alastor Bernhard has had centuries to plot the return of his clan. And he's managed to summon Castlevania for himself without using the power of Dracula. All thanks to his accomplice who you saw just a minute ago."

"Yeah, about her. Who _was_ she anyway?" asked Jonathan. Charlotte glared at her new book. She muttered something that Jonathan could just barely hear, only catching the words "…spoiling the ending…"

"Charlotte, this may come as a bit of a shock. You're family has ties to the Fernandez family if I'm not mistaken.

"Yes…" Charlotte answered uneasily looking back up from the book. Jonathan seemed to be growing restless.

"The woman is Camilla Fernandez. She used to be a vampire hunter, but was transformed into a vampire herself. She was killed centuries ago, but Alastor brought her back, and what's worse, she gained some incredible powers when she was resurrected. She has the powers of a regular Devil Forgemaster, except that instead of being limited to summoning undead and hellspawn, she also has the power to bring things back to life. Like that dragon you fought a few minutes ago."

"Well, that's kind of unsettling," Charlotte seemed to pale slightly and her voice shook, an obviously fake and nervous smile playing at her lips.

"Wait a second," Jonathan interrupted, "Are you telling us that that vampire we saw a minute ago was, like, Charlotte's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, aunt or something?"

"Uh, well, something along those lines."

Chralotte's face lost several shades of color in seconds. She shuddered feverishly.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Loretta asked, "But what you're trying to say is that even though Bernhard is the mastermind here, Camilla's the one we've got to be looking out for?"

"More or less."

"And where's the castle this time?" Charlotte asked.

"It's appeared about ten miles from a rural town in Pennsylvania."

"That sounds strangely appropriate," chuckled Jonathan, "So, who exactly sent you anyway?"

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone seeing as we aren't even supposed to exist anymore, but you guys _did_ save my life. I don't actually have a last name, but I'm with the Order of Ecclesia. The symbol on my cloak is a glyph."

"I knew it!" Charlotte snapped her fingers, "That's the Confodere Glyph! And that would mean that you're—"

"Yes. I'm Oliver, of the house of Shanoa."

They took a moment to let the information sink in.

"Soooooooo," said Jonathan conversationally, "Who's got any ideas in regards to explaining to the neighbors what the hell happened twenty minutes ago?"

There was a short awkward silence.

"Neo-Nazis?" Stella suggested uncertainly.

Only the boys laughed. The other two girls groaned.

"Yeah, didn't really think that'd work either."

"Let's go with a gas leak and leave it at that before people get suspicious."

The clock struck midnight.

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><p>Unbeknownst to anyone, a stone coffin lay inside a cave on the grounds of Castlevania. There was a grating noise as stone dragged against stone and slowly, the lid of the coffin was pushed aside. Inside, a man with pale skin and platinum blond hair sat up. He was dressed in dark clothes with gold trim. He sighed, twin pools of amber opening lethargically; the only sign that he had been asleep at all.<p>

"I cannot feel any trace of my father's powers having been active recently… Why have I awoken this time?"

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><p><strong>Author's Note: So, what does everyone think? Who recognizes Mariabella? I'll be disappointed if you can't at least tell who the 'mystery' character at the end of the chapter is. Anyway, Oliver was originally going to be the name of the Bernhard vampire, but I didn't want to make people think of an adorable orphan boy whenever I wrote his name. He works much better as Shanoa's descendant. Still, he's not really going to be doing much other than replacing Vincent with a less…pathetic…character. He's really not going to show up very often either… I apologize if anyone is now hoping for an appearance from Shanoa. She's been dead for three hundred years and I'm not bringing her back. Oh well…at least you fans of <em>Symphony of the Night<em> have something to look forward to. I hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter soon.**

**Fun Fact: Jonathan Morris actually lives in Texas! It's true! While it doesn't explicitly say that Jonathan himself lives in Texas anywhere in the _Castlevanian_ mythos, Quincy Morris from _Bram Stoker's Dracula_ (who is of course Jonathan Morris's grandfather) is said to have been Texan. So, assuming that the family hasn't changed their main habitation for seventy-or-so years, Jonathan Morris can be assumed to be from Texas. By extension, that also means that Charlotte is also from Texas. Who knew! Well, me actually. The reason I had them living in Ithaca is because…Heck, I'm Canadian, so I'm not really one to judge, but first of all, I figured that since Cornell is a relatively high ranking university, it only makes sense that Charlotte would get in, and also because…well, I just like Ithaca. Lots of river canyons, waterfalls, and its 'close' proximity to both the Finger Lakes and to a lesser extent the Great Lakes; it's just very nice, not to mention that Cornell's main campus and the surrounding community (dorms, student residences, fraternities, and whatnot) take up a large portion of the main city. It's pretty much the ideal real-world city for a video game character to live in. Plus, it shares the name of another _Castlevania_ character, so it's really the ideal school for these guys.**


	2. Chapter II: Courtyard of Blood

**Chapter II**

**Courtyard of Blood**

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><p>The drive to the castle was mostly uninterrupted. There were a few snippets of conversation, but for the most part the drive was silent.<p>

They were approaching the Pennsylvanian state line and they had stopped the car to fill up with gas. Soon afterwards, Oliver's directions led them off of the main road through a nearby town, and eventually off the road altogether.

Stella was wearing the same outfit that she had worn as a vampire, though she had decided to try out a pair of dance footwear that allowed for easier mobility. Heels were fine for fighting in if you were floating in midair. On the other hand, they were not good when you needed to perform the fancy footwork that her fencing technique demanded; so dancer's shoes it was. Loretta was giving her a bit of a hard time about her ensemble, seeing as the rosy pink and blue ballroom gown had lost its protective enchantments over a year ago. She could never understand why Stella always felt the need to flaunt her voluptuous figure. Then again, she didn't know how it felt to be a bombshell like her older sister. Unlike her somewhat flamboyant sister, she had opted to wear something particularly plain, even doing away with the frills she had worn those two years ago. She had on an ordinary navy blouse with a matching knee-length skirt. Over this was a long leather coat that was dyed the same frosty green color as the outfit that she had worn as a vampire. Also, she had decided against wearing her usual rose-adorned maid's babushka in favor of a more traditional bonnet. She also wore her durable rain boots and stockings. As for their argument, Stella's counter was that as a fencer and a duelist her best defenses were speed and mobility. The best way to stay alive in a fight was not to get hit at all. She had obviously momentarily forgotten that her dress was ankle-length.

Jonathan had taken his usual crimson leather coat that he wore on all vampire-hunting jobs. It was part of his standard ensemble. The black leather pants were also part of his regular getup. Even so, it was sweltering for him in the car. It was all he could do to remind himself that he would be grateful for his thick clothing when they got to the castle. After all, there were a lot of places in Castlevania that tended to be chilly. If he wasn't already too hot, he felt himself blushing for the umpteenth time that day as he saw Charlotte in the rearview mirror. It didn't help that she was wearing an armored, but gorgeous blue corset that accentuated her curves…in addition to pressing her breasts together in a very distracting manner. Having known her since early childhood, he'd noticed that she'd begun…developing…a bit late. She wasn't quite done during their last hunting job and he'd taken the opportunity to tease her as much as possible about still being a child. He wouldn't exactly get another opportunity. He was glad he did, because she stopped growing only a few months later, just before her seventeenth birthday. Unfortunately, ever since then he didn't really know what to make of her. She wasn't quite as curvy as Stella, but she still had them in all the right places. She was beautiful enough to turn his brain off almost entirely, but it felt so terrifyingly wrong to be looking at her like that!

'_Maybe I should see a therapist,'_ he thought wearily.

In addition to the light blue corset, she also wore a white knee-length skirt. She had outgrown the thigh-high stockings both physically and psychologically, and opted to stay cool for the drive, not wearing any leg-gear this time around. She had opted to keep her old half-cape. She had outgrown it since their first trek through the dark castle, but it was something that she had worn ever since she was small enough for it to (almost) be a full-sized cape on her. She had gone to a seamstress and had it refitted for her. She had a pair of enchanted bracers on her wrists that protected her bare arms. Being a scholar, her hands were her favorite part of her body. They deserved extra protection. After all, if they were damaged how would she write her doctorate paper? Her shoes were her favorite pair of Oxford running shoes. Brand new, better quality, and barely a fraction of the price she had forked over to Vincent for her first pair. Sometimes she could barely contain herself when wearing them, a fact that annoyed her infinitely.

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><p>None of them needed to be told when they were approaching the castle. They could tell they were close by the fact that the sky grew dark as midnight around 2:00 pm. They decided that it would be best not to enter the grounds inside the vehicle, and they were looking for a good place to park when a man seemed to materialize in front of their car. Jonathan slammed on the brakes, but they failed to bring the car to a stop soon enough. The man was sent flying, and the five occupants of the car hopped out like they had been ejected from the vehicle. They ran over to where the man had landed, and were surprised to find him picking himself up.<p>

"Oh my god, I am _so_ sorry," Jonathan tried before the stranger shot him down.

"It's fine, no harm done. I would be more worried about the other occupant of your vehicle if I were you."

All five of them looked at each other, making sure that they were all there.

"Uh…there's nobody left in the car…" Jonathan said in confusion.

"Are you sure?" asked the stranger, "I doubt that machine would be shaking all on its own."

Jonathan and Charlotte glanced at one another before turning to look at his car. Sure enough, it was shaking back and forth. They ran over to the car, not seeing anyone inside. They weren't sure whether to be worried or relieved when they heard thumping coming from the trunk. They couldn't have opened it fast enough, but they found themselves less than enthusiastic about the occupant.

"Thank you so much! I thought I was gonna die in there!" she gasped as she climbed out of the small, dark space in the back of the car.

"_Mariabella Fox!_" Charlotte raged, "_What do you think you're doing here! Have you got any idea how dangerous it is here! And why on Earth would you sneak into the trunk of a car! That's dangerous enough as it is, you could have suffocated!_"

"Sorry mom," Maria said with a roll of her eyes, "I can take care of myself." Charlotte was utterly lost in terms of responses, so she settled for one of her trademark death-glares. "Besides, I had to know where you were going. I just followed you."

Charlotte groaned, but resigned herself to taking Maria with the rest of them.

Meanwhile, Jonathan had turned to get another look at their car-victim. He had platinum blond hair, and was wearing something akin to a fancy eighteenth century suit, complete with a cape. It was eerily similar to Dracula's preferred cloak.

"So…uh…who are you exactly?"

"All you need know of me is that I oppose Dracula, but if you must call me anything, you may refer to me as Alucard."

"Alucard, huh? Something about that name strikes me as being odd."

"It is Dracula spelled backwards."

"Oh," replied Jonathan smartly.

A few meters away, Maria and Charlotte had resolved their conflict and were making idle small talk.

"So who's _that_ gorgeous piece of work?"

"We don't really know," answered Charlotte, "Jonathan just rammed into him with the car. It's totaled, but the guy's fine. Something is _very_ wrong about that.

"Something about him seems familiar to me. Maybe it's the silver hair…" she strode up to Alucard, "So, what's _your_ name?"

The man in question seemed startled when he looked at her, but then shook his head as if trying to dismiss a thought.

"You may call me Alucard. May I ask you the same question?"

"I'm Maria Fox.

Alucard choked.

"Is…Maria…short for anything, perchance?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

"My whole name is Mariabella, but I'd really rather you not—"

Alucard sighed almost inaudibly, "It is…good to meet you Mariabella."

"Did I _not_ just tell you to call me Maria? I hate being called by that silly long name."

"I apologize, but I cannot simply call you…Maria."

"Why not?"

"That is none of your concern, as we only met a few moments ago," Alucard's voice was more forceful as he said this, but he didn't walk away either.

Off to the side, Stella and Loretta muttered to each other. "What's _his_ problem?"

"I couldn't tell you, sister," Loretta's answer was blunt,

"There is something strange about him though… Alucard… I know I've heard that name somewhere before."

Meanwhile, Maria was busy asking questions again, "So, Alucard, why are you so formal?"

"Is having good manners looked down on these days?"

"Um, no, of course not. It's just that you have really good etiquette. Better than anyone I know. I've known you for barely two minutes and I can already tell that you're a complete gentleman."

"I see."  
>"Look, I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but shouldn't we be getting to the castle?" Jonathan asked.<p>

"Yeah, we probably should," agreed Charlotte.

"I will join you."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked, "It's not exactly safe in there."

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself," Alucard stated in a tone that dared anyone to question him. He drew out a masterfully crafted sword that seemed to emit a blue aura from a scabbard at his hip. He gave it a few experimental swings before sliding it back into its sheath.

"Okay, let's go then," Stella suggested, "Loretta, Charlotte, your spells are prepared? Do you have a weapon ready, Jonathan?"

She was met with unanimous agreement, and they proceeded towards the castle gates. Maria looked on in bemusement. Her four best friends? Swords and sorcery? What in the world were they talking about?

"Oh dear God, please tell me that they don't do Role Plays."

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><p>"Wow, this place is spooky," said Maria, "And I feel…strange… Have I been here before?"<p>

"I doubt that," said Oliver passively, "Nobody ever comes to this castle if they can avoid it. Its power even affects human minds, making people want to avoid the general area it's made its home.

"Still…this place is familiar to me," Maria insisted.

"Charlotte, your memory's better than mine, but I could have sworn that the designs on the gate shafts were different last time we came here," said Jonathan suspiciously.

"What? That's crazy. I'm sure they're exactly—" Charlotte cut herself off as she saw the two demonic figures depicted on the twisted metal bars. "You're right, they _are_ different. That's…creepy."

"Whatever," Loretta said, not showing any interest at all, "Let's proceed, shall we?"

"Yes."

Stella and Jonathan went first, each of them pushing one of the heavy double gate-doors open. As they passed through the entrance into the castle walls, everything grew silent. The sounds of the night seemed to fade away as they made their way closer towards he two giant doors. No crickets chirped. Sounds made by forest animals disappeared. The wind blew, but no leaves rustled as it passed. They found themselves standing at a moat. The drawbridge was up.

"Any ideas on how to tackle this obstacle, Jonathan?" Charlotte asked.

"Sorry," he looked away slightly embarrassed.

"We can't just be stuck here! We're not even inside yet!" gasped Charlotte in exasperation, "Last time there was at least a way inside!"

There was a sound like metal gears turning and they looked up to see the bridge being lowered.

"What? Who—"

Before she could vocalize her question, a deep, gravelly, and chillingly familiar voice came from the other side of the moat still hidden by the slowly descending bridge. Charlotte opened her spellbook and Jonathan hoisted Agni's Flame into a fighting stance.

"I know what you are about to ask, Miss Aulin. It is a rather simple question for you to be asking if I may say so, but I shall answer it regardless. _I_ lowered the bridge for you.

The groaning mechanisms screamed and the bridge suddenly slammed down with a crash, revealing whom they already knew to be speaking. A figure in a tattered blue-black hooded cloak hovered several feet in the air; skeletal arms gripped a terrifying black scythe, and red pinpoints smoldered deep within a pair of empty sockets of a grinning skull, partially hidden by the hood. A skeletal humanoid creature with a long, razor-sharp beak and equally dangerous-looking spear stood at the specter's right, while at its left a demonic, dragon-like monster flapped its winged arms to stay aloft, smoke coming from its nostrils.

"Oh God…" Maria sank to her knees, "I'm seeing things aren't I? Jonathan and Charlotte, a swordsman and a witch? And i-is t-that the G-Grim Reaper! And w-what the _hell _are _those_ things? _What is going on!_"

"He prefers to be referred to as Death, for that is what he is," Alucard tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hmm…Alucard, I see you have returned," Death took a moment to analyze him, "And you found your weapons. I expected no less. As for you," he pointed at Maria, "I remember clearly that I took you four-hundred years ago, but I never forget a face. I shall need to determine whether or not my theory is correct. In the meantime," he said in a businesslike tone, "We have much to discuss."

"Yeah, you bet we do!" Jonathan charged, Agni's Flame in hand, "Like how the hell you're even here!"

Flames erupted over the blade of his sword as he dashed towards the Reaper. Sparks burst everywhere as the sword was blocked by Death's scythe. Charlotte ran up and cast Spirit of Light, catching Death while he was busy fending off Jonathan.

"Slogra, Gaibon," Death commanded, "You know what to do."

The pair of demons advanced past Jonathan and Charlotte and began an offensive on Stella, Loretta and Alucard.

"I have destroyed the two of you once already," Alucard stated, deadpan, "It should not be a complicated matter to do it again." He drew his sword.

Slogra and Gaibon both glared at him in recognition and focused their attention on the Lecarde sisters. Stella almost immediately had her rapier thrust between Slogra's all too visible ribs. Slogra looked down at the sword protruding from his chest and lowered his head with what Stella could have sworn was embarrassment. Other than that reaction, he didn't seem particularly fazed for one who was just impaled. An agile spear thrust, and Stella was knocked backwards, sword in hand, pulling it out of Slogra's seemingly emaciated frame. She dusted herself off and was no worse for wear.

Loretta on the other hand was having trouble. She was casting her usual ice spells, and Gaibon was using this to his advantage. Loretta would cast Icicle Drop, and he shot fireballs from his mouth, melting or shattering the giant ice shards before they could fall to the ground. She would use Ice Fang, and Gaibon just dodged the spikes. Freeze Bite was too slow, and the frozen projections of wolves' heads were once again met with fireballs. She was running out of ideas.

Back on Jonathan's side of the field, Death was hammering at Dragon Slayer with his scythe, Jonathan having switched weapons when he realized that the Agni's Flame could be damaged if he used it to block. That was one sword that he was not ready to lose. So while he kept Death busy, Charlotte was able to cast whatever she pleased. An Explosion was followed up by Thor's Bellow, both of which knocked Death off guard long enough for Jonathan to take a few slashes at him. All in all, things were beginning to look rather grim for the Reaper.

Stella was going all out on Slogra. She had thought the fight was over when she had managed to his spear out of his grip, and was naturally caught off guard when Slogra charged at her, head outstretched, beak forward. She jumped backwards just a moment too late, and Slogra's sharp beak stabbed her just above her waist.

"And this was a new dress too…" she muttered glumly as she put a hand to her now torn dress. She pressed her hand to the cut, wincing as she did so, and held her hand up to her face, finding it more than a little bloody, "Well, I suppose that I should have realized that wearing it to this castle was a poor decision. I can only blame myself. I'll still beat you senseless though. Slogra, right?"

"Correct," replied a thin, congested-sounding voice. Stella looked around for its source before it dawned on her that it was Slogra who had spoken.

"Whoa. I didn't know that you could talk. Why haven't you said anything yet?"

"I see no reason to speak while fighting. It would only distract me. I did not bother to speak, yet I know all the tricks you've shown me thus far. Now you have a choice: Defend yourself, or die. _En guarde!_" He thrust his beak forward like a spear, but this time Stella was ready. She batted his beak away with her rapier and leaped up into the air. "Anticipate this! Observe!" Stella held out her rapier and was suspended in midair as she executed one of the few magical attacks she knew: "Crescent Moon!" she twirled around in the air, drawing four arcs in the air with her sword. Slogra watched her movements carefully as she slashed at the empty space. He was not prepared for the crescent shaped blades of wind that seemed to materialize wherever she had drawn an arc with her sword. Stella hung in the air, concentrating fiercely to keep her attack in effect at least until it hit. The 'crescent moons' slowly began to home in on him, and Slogra weaved about through the courtyard trying to evade the razor sharp wind-based pursuers, but they steadily grew faster and faster until…

"Sister! Behind you!"

Stella didn't react fast enough and her concentration broke as she was swatted out of the air by a leathery blue-gray wing. Of course, she should have understood it sooner. Slogra and Gaibon were partners. Of course they would assist each other. She should have been paying more attention. Slogra had also managed to retrieve his spear and was now back at his full threat level.

* * *

><p>Up until that point, Loretta's situation hadn't worsened, but it hadn't improved very much either. She found that Gaibon was susceptible to her Blizzard Storm spell because the wind it generated threw him off balance. She had climbed up a tree to get a more appropriate altitude so that she could be level with him, and when she cast the spell he had tumbled from the sky, landing in a dazed heap on the ground. Still, in order for her tactic to work she had to keep herself at a similar altitude to the demon.<p>

Once Gaibon had gotten his bearings he had noticed that Slogra was on his last legs so-to-speak. He saw that the other sister seemed to be casting a spell, and though still somewhat faint, he managed to dash towards her, jump, and knock her out of the air at the moment his opponent had tried to warn her. The crescent moons dissipated before they reached Slogra, who was now ready for another round. Gaibon on the other hand had been too distracted to notice the gigantic icicle that was hovering above his head as he landed from his jump-attack.

"–_Drop!_"

The great ice shard fell. It hit him square on the head, and he crumpled to the ground like an empty soda can being stomped on by a teenager. Small chunks of ice, all that remained from the icicle sailed in multiple directions. One of the larger pieces hit Slogra in the head as well, and he was knocked over onto his back.

* * *

><p>Loretta ran over to the slightly dazed Stella. She was picking herself off the ground holding her head in one of her hands, anticipating what would likely be a splitting headache before the hour was up. They were about to take a breather when Slogra picked himself up and stalked up to the sisters.<p>

"I may be in bad shape, but it will take more than _that_ display to take down Gaibon."

Stella and Loretta stared at Gaibon. Slowly, he pulled himself back to his feet using a nearby rock as leverage. Something had started to change about him too. As he pulled himself to his feet, his body darkened from its blue-gray hue to until it was a deep, bloody red.

Slogra stabbed forward, aiming for Loretta with his beak but was knocked away with a well-placed thrust of Stella's rapier. That was when Gaibon leaped up and into the air. He flew around the sisters circling around them a few times. Flames gathered in and around his mouth as he inhaled. They were ready for fire, but not in the quantity that was delivered. He let loose a massive barrage of fireballs in their vicinity. Nothing could escape that kind of firestorm. While the fire _had_ done some damage, the sisters were still not out of the battle yet. Thanks to the fire, their area was clouded by smoke. While they couldn't see Slogra and Gaibon, the reverse was true as well. But there was a way for them to fix it in their favor now. And it was all thanks to dear old Gaibon and his fire based attacks.

"I have an idea," Loretta stated calmly.

"Do tell, dear sister. We may need a new strategy."

"You don't have to worry, I have it all figured out. Just listen carefully…

* * *

><p>Alucard had by no means been idle throughout the fight. The moment Slogra and Gaibon turned their attention away from him, he quickly strode over to Maria.<p>

"Stand up. Hurry over to those willows. Oliver is taking cover there. It would be best if you stayed out of this as well. I will do what I can to keep the two of you safe."

"U-Um, er… Oh. Oh! O-Okay. T-That's f-f-f-fine," she stuttered, still quite shaken from the initial encounter.

"Move quickly."

"I-I said, 'okay.'

As they reached the trees, Maria took several deep breaths and closed her eyes for a moment before calming down enough to ask what was on her mind.

"All right. Would you mind telling me what's going on here? What are my two friends doing fighting some crazy guy calling himself Death? What are those…_things?_ And please, for the love of God, tell me that I'm not going crazy."

"I assure you that you are still of sound mind, Mariabella—"

"I'm not 'Mariabella!'" she huffed haughtily, "I'm just 'Maria!'"

"…As I was saying, I can assure you that your mind is intact. All of this is actually happening. Your friends appear to be vampire hunters, and the being whom they fight is not a lunatic claiming to be Death, he truly _is_ Death. The two creatures that the two young women are fighting, they are Slogra and Gaibon. They are elite demons from the underworld and are—

"Yeah, I know, Death's most trusted minions," she drawled impatiently, "—_Wait a sec!_ How did I _know_ that?"

"I…" Alucard began slowly, wondering exactly how to respond, "I cannot say. I haven't the first idea how you could have come across that knowledge."

"I'm so confused! Why can't I just get a straight answer?"

"That is as direct as I can be. You'll have to forgive me for my lack of knowledge. In any case, I may be able to find some sort of answers for you inside the castle."

* * *

><p>Death's scythe grated precariously against an axe. Although it was a very strange axe indeed. Not that it looked odd or was unusual in any sort of way, as it looked like any generic battleaxe. The thing about it that made it so bizarre was that it was protruding from the pages of a book, along with a number of other weapons, including swords, another axe, spears and even a few maces. Charlotte snapped the book shut and slid out of the way as Death's momentum drove him forward. This gave Jonathan enough time to slash at Death. He leaped away, preparing to go for another new tactic. Or to be more accurate, he was about to change tactics until Charlotte stopped him.<p>

"Jonathan?"

"Yeah?"

"I just noticed something…you're not going to like this."

"What? What's wrong?"

"Haven't you noticed? The last time we fought him he was summoning sickles that homed in on us. He also hasn't been changing his defensive alignment between magic and weaponry. Both of our attacks are equally effective against him."

"You're right, now that I think about it, he was also using those weird chain-hand-portal things to trap us. What's he up to?"

"I have a guess…but what do _you_ think?"

"I think that he's toying with us. Either that or he's discreetly letting us win."

"That's exactly what I was thinking. But why would he do either of those things?"

At that moment everything finally went to Hell. Death pulled his scythe back and threw it. It spun at a lightning quick pace, almost like a buzzsaw, and flew all around the surrounding area, knocking both Jonathan and Charlotte off their feet. He shot over to where they landed and slammed his scythe down at Jonathan's head. He managed to roll away just in time, but he was still shaken. He watched the curved blade slide out of the ground and he stiffened. Charlotte was unconscious.

He made to reach for his Dragon Slayer, but of course it wasn't in its scabbard. He'd dropped it when the scythe had sent them flying. Still, he had other weapons that he could use. He pulled out Agni's Flame and jumped over Charlotte just as Death followed up his first strike with another. The haft hit Agni's Flame's blade and the scythe's razor sharp edge stopped millimeters above her face. Jonathan didn't know what happened next, but the next thing he knew, he was in a very different position.

* * *

><p>Loretta steadied herself before she began with Phase One of her two-part plan:<p>

"_Blizzard Storm!_"

In the following moments the wind generated by the concentrated blizzard blew all the smoke away. While that had the potential to be counterproductive, if they were quick enough, it would only work in their favor. The storm blew smoke, ash, snow and ice into the two demons' eyes, momentarily blinding them. They wouldn't be able to see for several seconds after the smoke cleared enough to find them. It was time for Phase Two:

"Ready, sister?" Loretta asked.

"Yes, Loretta," Stella confirmed.

Loretta cast their dual crush at that moment.

"_Ice Claymore!_"

The blade of Stella's rapier was suddenly encased in a large, razor sharp block of ice shaped like the blade of a sword. The ice was under Loretta's control until she released it, and so Stella held fast to her sword as the ice plucked her from the ground until she was above Gaibon and Slogra. Loretta's control loosened just enough to let Stella direct the immense blade. She would simultaneously keep enough control to move the icy blade along the path as laid out by Stella.

Stella's declaration of "You shall be sundered!" was not completely literal, as Gaibon and Slogra weren't in pieces when she swept the huge ice-blade in a wide vertical arc. Nevertheless, they were still were on the wrong end of a very powerful attack. The demonic duo didn't stand a chance. As the dust (and various other particles that were still in the air) settled, the Lecarde sisters admired their handiwork:

Gaibon had managed to get entangled in the branches of a tree he had been knocked into, and Slogra was sprawled on the ground ten feet from where he was hit, his beak agape. Unlike Gaibon, Slogra, amazingly was still conscious, his eyes wide open, though his pupils were dilated enough to show that he was stunned and he was obviously more than a little stupefied. The overall facial expression could be accurately defined by the word 'hilarious.' His spear had snapped like a twig when he had tried to block the massive strike, which only added insult to (severe) injury.

Stella's next announcement was really only for herself and her sister who responded with a shrug, followed by a nod of her head.

"I think we could have done better."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Jonathan was just getting his bearings: Death had nearly killed Charlotte, and he had barely managed to stop him. After that the rest was a blur of fury and adrenalin. All he knew now was that he had managed to single-handedly knock Death himself to the ground. Jonathan still felt the anger and hatred directed toward the deity, but he was at least able to think clearly now.<p>

Death pushed himself up slightly with his skeletal hands, and spoke slowly.

"Jonathan Morris…"

"I just dare you to beg me for mercy you worthless insect!" The vampire hunter's voice dripped with malice he didn't even realize he was capable of.

"Very well… I shall concede. This was not a fight… that I intended to win in the first place," Death's voice was ragged, coming in short bursts, which was odd considering the fact that he didn't seem to breath. However Jonathan had only noticed what Death had said, not _how_ he said it.

_"This was not a fight… that I intended to win in the first place."_

If Jonathan's anger had been a burning tree moments ago, it was now an uncontrolled forest fire, "Charlotte was right! You _let_ me win! You bast—"

"Perhaps…the two of you…would like to know why?"

"Pray tell."

Jonathan looked behind him to find the source of the voice: It was Charlotte, awake and otherwise uninjured. Rage turned to relief, and in seconds Jonathan was helping her stand up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, shaken.

"I'm fine, but I'd like to hear what _he_," she pointed at Death, "has to say." The deity in question slowly began to rise, until he hovered a few feet above the ground.

"Very well…" Death announced, "Though I'd prefer to get to the point, I shall indulge your petty ignorance. You see, I never truly challenged you. The two of you were the ones that picked the fight. I lowered the drawbridge for you because I need you to enter this castle, but you saw fit to attack me on sight. I only fought back because I needed to retain my physical body for the time being."

"Then why did you try to kill Charlotte?" Jonathan demanded.

"If you've ever wanted to fight me, I would have thought that you already knew this: A fight with Death is a fight _to_ the Death, though not for _me_ of course, leaving you with nothing to gain, and everything to lose in this particular battle. Even so, I let you win because I cannot let you die yet. I never actually would have killed you Miss Aulin; I simply needed to make it appear as though I would to motivate your partner enough to end the fight before the usurper of this castle's power noticed anything."

"Why exactly do you want us alive still?" Charlotte asked, "I mean we've beaten you three times now. I'd expect that you'd rather have retribution on us for our 'offensive' behavior towards you."

"I certainly would _like_ to kill you. However, that would be counterproductive. You see; I cannot enter this castle unnoticed. The two of you on the other hand would be completely ignored until you had caused a substantial amount of damage."

"Um…thanks? But are you telling us that you're also against the Bernhard clan? Is it for the same reason that you opposed Brauner?"

"That is partially correct. Dracula is not currently able to return as far as I know. However, it is still my duty to guard his castle in his absence and keep unwanted guests—such as Alastor—out. The main reason that I need you to go in there however is so that you can kill that vile Devil Forgemaster, Camilla. I suspect that the young man hiding behind that shrubbery over there," a bush a few feet from them suddenly gasped in audible terror as he said this, "has informed you that she can resurrect the demons that she summons. I am assuming that because of that ability, she also has the power to ward off death…"

"Meaning that you probably can't even get within a ten foot radius of her, right?" Charlotte asked.

"That would be about right. Being death incarnate is not a simple task. Every second, _hundreds_, sometimes _thousands_, of things die all over the world, and it is my God-given duty for me to guide their souls to whichever afterlife is meant for them. And when an undead woman starts bringing things back to life from death and undeath…well, you should already realize that I would find her actions irritating on an astronomical scale. She _must_ be eliminated."

Jonathan turned to Charlotte, "You know, I'm lost having second thoughts about defeating her."

"Jonathan, just because Camilla bothers Death doesn't mean we can just ignore her. She's out to get us anyway! I can't believe I'm saying this, but if you want us to kill Camilla for you, I think we can work out an agreement. Also, I feel inclined to ask if you're able to give us any outside assistance?"

"Yes, young Oliver has a license to sell various items that can help you on this expedition of yours. I suppose that I could let him use some of my power to enchant the weapons he makes. Also, there will be no deals, as you already need to defeat her to get to Alastor. However, Miss Aulin, for your compliance and diplomacy I will give you this," he handed a blank silver coin to Charlotte.

"Pardon my asking, but what exactly is this?"

"I'm surprised that you haven't read about this coin in a book somewhere. It is a token that allows you to acquire whatever object is specified on it."

"But there's nothing on it…"

"There will be. You need only step foot into Castlevania's Great Library and the coin will lead you to the object in question, and then you must give the coin to the Master Librarian. As long as Alucard is with you, you should be able to find him. I think I've explained as mush as necessary, so I will begin forging the tool Oliver will need for enchanting his weapons. Just be aware that it does not belong to any of you. Stealing it will result in severe consequences."

"So, Oliver," Jonathan inquired, "You don't have any objections in regard to staying here in the courtyard, do you?"

"No, none at all. Uh…I'm just going to start setting up shop… Waaaaaaaaayyyy over here."

Jonathan waited with a raised eyebrow as Oliver went all the way to the wall opposite Death's worksite. He was about to start nailing hooks and other implements into the masonry when Death suddenly materialized behind him, scaring him out of his wits.

"I would recommend against vandalizing the Master's castle. Lay your weapons out on the ground and pull that hook out of the wall immediately."

"Yes! Right away!" Oliver removed the hook from the wall and Death went back to his side of the courtyard, where something was beginning to glow.

"Okay, the pre-show entertainment's over," Charlotte announced, "I think we should get moving. Shall we, Jonathan?"

"Don't see why not," he answered.

"Stella. Loretta. Are you both ready?

"We wouldn't be here if we weren't," Stella said passively.

Jonathan clapped his hands together in finality, before he seemed to remember something, "Alucard, are you coming with us?"

"I would like to meet this vampire for myself, so I believe I shall join you."

"I'm coming with you guys!" cried Maria suddenly.

Charlotte groaned, running her hand down her face. Jonathan, and the Lecarde sisters displayed similarly aggravated reactions, "Maria, I can't even begin to explain how dangerous it is in there!"

"Really? I think it's already kind of dangerous out here. Do you really want to leave me out here on my own with only the wimpy shopkeeper to protect me?"

Jonathan considered her question for a moment, "She's got a point."

"Gee, I am _so_ glad to know that you trust me," huffed Oliver.

"Don't take it personally, we just think that it'd be best if she came with us," Stella said with a laugh. She pushed the large castle doors open with a chorus of rusty protest from the ancient hinges, and walked inside, followed closely by the rest of the group.

"Wait! Don't just leave me out here by myself!" Oliver began to panic as Jonathan, who was at the back of the group, pulled the door closed behind him with a resounding bang.

"Well, this is just great!" Oliver shouted to nobody in particular. He tensed as he saw Death floating towards him.

"This is a list of materials, combinations, and instructions for creating magical weapons," he explained, handing Oliver a thin but impressive looking tome, "They should find an abundance of these materials in the castle. And this…" he added, showing him what appeared to be a traditional dream catcher, "is a seal of enchantment that you can use to enhance certain weapons that your…friends might find. As I already mentioned, this is not yours to keep. I'll take my leave of you now. Gaibon! Slogra!"

The pair of demons suddenly got up, Slogra getting up off the ground and Gaibon untangling himself from the branches, both as if they had never sustained severe injuries only a few minutes ago. The air around them blurred and when the distortion cleared, all three of the supernatural entities had vanished.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I think Death came off as being a bit too funny. He was intended to be dramatic. I see death not as evil, but as having a dark responsibility that he unfailingly carries out. He may be Dracula's confidant, but he is also the spirit who guides the souls of the dead to whatever afterlife they are meant to go, as dictated by God himself. I think that I may have made too many gags. Other than that, I think that I did rather well with his character. He was straightforward, matter-of-fact, and spoke very objectively. I think that they may have come across as slightly silly at times though. Anyway, I'd like to hear what you think. Is it going okay?<strong>


	3. Chapter III: The Castle of Change

**Chapter III**

**The Castle of Change, and Secret Tunnels**

* * *

><p>As Jonathan closed the door behind him there was a shriek from Maria. The reason was obvious. It was the one thing that he knew he could always count on to be in the castle's front corridor: There was a rotting corpse clawing its way up through the floor: Jonathan dashed forward and chopped the zombie's head off before it had even fully emerged, spraying ichor forward in a gory arc and earning another scream from Maria.<p>

"What the hell are these things?"

"Just zombies," Charlotte answered without a hint of worry, "Don't worry, they're harmless."

As if trying to disprove her dismissive statement, one of the creatures lurched towards her and bit down hard on her shoulder. Charlotte cringed in revulsion, but seemed otherwise unharmed. She reluctantly grabbed it by its partially rotted head and shoved it off effortlessly. She used the same hand to set the infectious corpse on fire, the flames coming from her hand burning off the slimy residue from the zombie's melting skin.

"I'll rephrase that," Charlotte said as she sent another jet of fire at a small group of zombies that had emerged from the floor, "Zombies are harmless, but they're sickening to be anywhere near, forget about having to touch one. Jonathan, could you escort Maria to the next room. Hopefully there'll be fewer monsters of the undead variety further on."

"No problem. You can handle these things."

Jonathan took Maria by the arm and pulled her along as he hewed a path through the undead hoard. The other four followed shortly thereafter, having removed the ones that were in their way. They found themselves in a chamber full of what appeared to be decorative suits of armor. Jonathan went up to one of the motionless ornaments and put his sword through it. A black cloud erupted from the suit and it fell to pieces. Unfortunately, the clatter woke the other suits of armor, which proceeded to pick up the axes positioned next to them. Alucard immediately pulled his sword out and cleaved three of the axe armors in half with a flourish of his elegant sword. Loretta finished the other four by impaling them on stalagmite icicles.

"You alright?" Stella asked Maria as they watched the living suits of armor clatter to the ground.

"I think I'll be fine as long as I don't see anything else that's supposed to be dead.

Stella opened the door to the next room and looked inside noticing an abundance of skeletons walking about aimlessly.

"You are _not_ going to like what you find in this room," she said without a hint of emotion.

As they continued on through the halls of the castle, Charlotte grew continually more confused. The castle's layout was nothing like she remembered it, which couldn't have been right, because she never forgot anything: She prided herself for her photographic memory. But other than the fact that monsters were everywhere, nothing indicated that this was the same castle that she had been in three years ago.

"I don't understand this! How can this be the same place that we were last time? It's crazy! Nothing's the same at all!"

Surprisingly, it was Alucard who took it upon himself to answer her question.

"The castle always changes whenever it is reincarnated. It is never the same twice. Castlevania itself does everything it can to make sure that intruders are either kept out, killed, or removed in some other fashion."

"I see…" Charlotte mused, "That's very interesting. I wonder why none of the books have never said anything about this?

"That is because very few have ever even been in the castle more than once, and the few who have managed to escape would have never wanted to return anyway."

"Well, that makes sense."

They continued making their way through the castle and its supernatural inhabitants. Maria soon found herself feeling more and more useless. She watched her friends take on monsters twice their size and win easily, and while she knew she should have felt proud of them—albeit in a weird and possibly delusional sort of way—she only noticed that she wasn't able to defend herself. And every time she was attacked and rescued by anyone else, she only saw her own inadequacy. They were heading across a bridge over a pool filled with what appeared to be mutant squids when she finally couldn't stand it any longer.

"That's it! I can't stand around and watch while you guys do everything. I can't stand being defenseless! And I _really_ can't stand that pitying look you guys give me every time you save my sorry neck! Isn't there anything I can use to kill the…things…that seem to be everywhere in this place? I mean they're infesting this castle like rats!"

Charlotte and Jonathan stared at her with a somewhat surprised expression. Then Charlotte pulled a book out of her knapsack and carefully placed it into Maria's hands.

"That's a book of basic spells. It's not particularly useful in combat, but there are a few things that might be helpful to you. I'll show you when we get to a sanctuary. I think that there should be one up ahead. They stepped off the bridge and walked down the adjacent hallway towards a door that oddly enough, was emblazoned with the figure of a Cross. They opened the door and crossed the threshold, finding a statue of the Virgin Mary. There were beds, a desk and even a small washroom off to the side.

"I'm not going to lie. This room's made me question my sanity again."

"You're fine, Maria, it's all real. Dracula occasionally had mortal guests. He didn't expect them to sleep in the halls where the monsters would eventually show themselves and kill them. Those monsters can't get in here because of the holy presence."

Alucard closed his eyes and sighed. He knew the real reason for which these shrines were originally built. Not that he could reveal that reason to any of his current companions.

As Charlotte had promised, she began teaching Maria some of the simpler spells in the book. Maria seemed to be having a lot of trouble, and after two hours of her best efforts she was barely even able to light a candle.

"I don't think I'm cut out for this magic stuff. I'm thrilled that I was able to make a fire out of nowhere—that's pretty cool—but I think I'm doomed to only ever doing parlor tricks. Well, at least I'll be the life of a party when I freeze everyone's drinks." She was about to close the book when something caught her eye.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing at a diagram of a grey summoning circle. The circle contained a dodecagon that was crisscrossed with lines stemming from each angle, forming a twelve-pointed star. Arcane symbols that she didn't understand were drawn near every point of the star and several of the points were linked together with arcs and smaller circles.

"Oh, that's probably one of the more advanced Artes in this book," Charlotte explained, "It's a spell called Summon Familiar. I never actually mastered that, only ever figuring out the things that had specific animals or monsters defined in the incantations."

"Can I try it out?"

"I don't see why not, but don't be disappointed when nothing happens. This is a really tough invocation."

"I know. But I just have this…good feeling about this one."

Charlotte just shrugged as Maria took a deep breath and focused. When she closed her eyes she could envision the summoning circle perfectly. She traced the lines of the star in the air and recited the incantation:

"_I call thee forth from the other world;_

_And beseech you aid my noble purpose;_

_Come forth from the void on my command;_

_And lend me thine spirit's power;_"

At this point something sparked in her mind, and for a moment she saw thousands of different animals in great detail all in the same instant. She suddenly thought of the doves that she had first taken care of as a child; the doves that she still kept with her back at school. The final words of the incantation came from her mouth automatically.

"_Doves of the Heart!_"

As she finished reciting the spell, the circle that she had seen in the book drew itself in the air in front of her. Charlotte looked on in excited wonder as the ethereal grey summoning circle turned pure white, and a pair of doves slowly emerged from the circle. Maria was doing her best to control herself until she completed the spell, restraining herself from jumping up and down in shocked awe. The doves finally stretched their wings and took off as the occult symbols behind them faded away. Maria pumped her fist in the air and cheered for herself as the doves took to flying around her cheerfully. Charlotte was utterly dumbstruck, her mouth hanging open in incredulity.

"Oh my God! How did you _do_ that?"

"I'm trying to figure that out! It just came naturally to me. I don't even know why!"

"This is just too incredible!" Charlotte breathed, "I need to sit down for a minute. I never realized that you had to give the animal its proper title according to the spell. Maybe it's only meant to be used by certain people."

"Could be," Jonathan observed, but shouldn't we get moving now that we're done with our detour?"

"Yes, definitely," Charlotte agreed, "By the way Maria, feel free to keep that book for now. I'll want it back sometime, but you can probably teach yourself a few spells from it. It'll be good practice for you. But you'd better be careful with it. It's still in perfect condition. I do _not_ want anything happening to it."

Maria smiled gratefully, picking the book up. The group left the sanctuary shortly thereafter and proceeded down the hallway. After several encounters with a few bat colonies they found themselves at a staircase that would lead them down into the castle's catacombs judging by the cave-like qualities that the stairwell possessed. The walls and ceiling were carved directly out of the rock. The stairs were really the only things that even indicated that it was still part of the castle. They were nearing the bottom when a heavy rumble coming from all around them stopped them in their tracks. Jonathan hushed the rest of the group and walked forward, Charlotte close behind him. Then several things happened all at once. The ceiling between Jonathan and Charlotte and the other four shuddered and began to cave in on itself, separating Jonathan and Charlotte from the others and sending the two of them diving for cover. As the rocks falling from the ceiling hit the ground, and began piling up further down, cracks began forming in the staircase. They had seemed solid enough on the way down, but moments later the stairs crumbled.

Stella and Loretta, who had been trying to figure out what was causing the ceiling to collapse suddenly felt the ground beneath them give way, and they both shrieked as they fell into the dark abyss.

Alucard, who had been standing next to Maria, had grabbed her at the last moment and jumped aside just as the floor began to fall apart. He heard the terrified shrieks of Stella and Loretta as they disappeared into the blackness. As the rocks continued to fall, Maria stared wide-eyed at the deep hole that was now in place of the stairs, a look of horror plain on her face.

"Are they…they can't be…"

"The sisters are fine. Stella managed to reach Loretta in midair and was able to drive her sword into the wall to slow their fall. They'll be fine provided they make their way back up. The catacombs are full of nightmarish creatures, but I'm sure they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves."

"You're sure, Alucard?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"I saw them fall into a bottomless pit! They might be fatally injured!"  
>"Trust me, they are perfectly safe—at least as safe as one can be in this castle."<p>

Maria glared at him for a moment before she found the nerve to respond.

"Fine," she said simply, "You'd better be right."

The falling debris finally slowed and came to a stop. They heard Jonathan's voice from the other side of the obstruction.

"Are you guys alright? How are things on your end?"

"Not good! Jonathan, the floor collapsed and Stella and Loretta fell into a bottomless pit! I'm really worried! Alucard says they're okay, but I don't know…" she glanced over the edge and pulled herself back as she felt a wave of vertigo pass over her, "It's a re-eally l-long drop!"

"Oh God! That's awful!" Charlotte cried back, "Hell, thanks to this rockslide, I think that we have to split up. It won't do us any good to wait around hoping that this obstacle disappears. The two of us can try and find Stella and Loretta, you two should just try to keep progressing through the castle."

"S-Sounds like a plan," Maria answered, "Do you guys think they're alright?"

"The Lecarde sisters are tough," Jonathan said in assurance, "It'll take more than a pitfall to finish them, however deep it may be."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better. So are we ready?"

"No problems here…aside from the obvious I guess," Jonathan confirmed.

"Good," Alucard spoke up, "We will try to find another route to the upper levels on this side."

"Alright, let's make tracks," Jonathan announced. The two groups headed off in their separate directions.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, deep within the catacombs Stella and Loretta were woozily picking themselves up.<p>

"Hello?" Stella shouted as loudly as she could, "Can you guys hear me?"

She received no response beyond her own voice echoing off the cavernous walls.

"Stella!" Loretta sounded apprehensive, "I think you've just attracted some old friends over for dinner, and we're probably the main course."

Stella looked around. She wasn't surprised to find herself surrounded by a sickening hoard of weights, zombies and ghouls.

"Well, let's not be rude," Stella grinned savagely, "Let's greet the guests!" she dashed into the midst of the walking corpses and pulled her rapier out of its scabbard and whirled around in a jagged dance of death, tearing through the rotting monsters like scissors cutting wet paper. Loretta was finding that her ice spells were growing ineffective against the undead monsters, and opted to try something different. She was by no means proficient in terms of fire spells, but generally, she had found that the lesser undead monsters were almost all flammable. Though she wasn't able to do very much, she was able to fire off a shower of sparks and embers, burning some of the creatures, and even setting fire to some of the others.

"Stella, a little help here?"

"Let's try a more direct teamwork approach maybe?"

"Ready when you are."

"I'm always ready," Stella said with a smirk.

"_Ice Claymore!_" The sisters shouted in unison.

Once again Stella's took the form of a huge blade of pure ice. She swept it in as wide an arc as she could manage. The blade ripped mercilessly through the shambling attackers. Weights that weren't bisected smashed into zombies and ghouls, flattening them against each other.

"What a shame," giggled Loretta, "Such a wondrous display of our power and these things don't even have the decency to be sentient so that they can tremble before it."

"So true," joked Stella. The words had barely left her mouth before she was already destroying the monsters again. They didn't last long.

"So tragic," Loretta mused, "And to think that this bloodshed all could have been avoided if we'd just brought them some dinner."

"I'm afraid I may be missing something," Stella said in confusion. Then she remembered what had been said as the fight had started. "Oh."

There was an eerie groan from the far end of the hallway. There was, however, a rather conveniently placed door near where they were standing. They threw it open and ran off down the next corridor. They weren't sure, but they were beginning to think that the hall had begun to grow darker as they continued forward.

* * *

><p>"Miss Fox, I believe that I have found something that may be of interest to you."<p>

"Alucaaaaard!" Maria whined, "Why can't you just call me Maria? Miss Fox makes me sound like an old lady!" Her new dove companions cooed, trying to make her feel better.

"My apologies. I simply thought that you might prefer it to 'Mariabella.'

"Well, actually, I do. But that's not the point! Just call me Maria!"

"I cannot do that."

"And I can't convince you to tell me why," Maria let out a growl of frustration before she found herself able to speak again, "Whatever, what did you want to show me?"

"I found this scroll here. I do not know a lot of magic, but it looks like it has a summoning circle on it."

"Oh?" Maria said in interest, "Do you think I'll be able to do it?"

"I would be interested in seeing you try."

"All right, why not," she took the scroll as Alucard held it out to her.

It had the same basic circle design, but there was some text beside the circle that Maria couldn't understand. Based on what Charlotte had told her about spell failure, she weighed her options. If she tried casting it, she might get a new familiar. If she messed up with a spell this complex though, any number of harmful things could happen to her. She made her decision.

"I think I'll just hold on to this until we can find Charlotte again. I don't want to risk making a mess of things. If I get hurt, I'll be stuck here after all."

"I suppose that you have a point," Alucard agreed, shall we continue moving forward?"

Maria made a gesture as if to nod, but suddenly stopped short, her head turning to face the adjacent wall. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"You mean the sound of running water? Yes."

"I think it came from behind this wall here," Maria pressed her ear to the stone wall and concentrated, covering her other ear with her hand. Sure enough, she heard the faint gurgling of flowing water on the other side of the wall.

"Yep, there's definitely something on the other side here. Do you think you can break this wall?"

"I suppose so," Alucard said, pulling his sword out of its scabbard. He took a hard swipe at the wall. A crack rang out as a fissure appeared in the rock. He slashed at the wall again, and the crack grew wider. His third swing was rewarded as the section of wall fell to pieces. The dust cleared, and as they looked through the hole they found an interesting sight indeed.

* * *

><p>"Well, I don't know where we're going. We're completely lost," Jonathan groaned. He and Charlotte had continued through the dark tunnels beneath the main structure and were growing horribly frustrated.<p>

"You know, we could have asked that ghost for directions," Charlotte complained.

"I did! If we'd followed his instructions we'd have walked right into the cave wall where it was covered in spikes."

"Oh, yeah, that's right…" she muttered. Their situation was beginning to look rather bleak. She shivered a bit as a chilly breeze passed.

A breeze…

"Hey wait! Did you feel that draft?"

"Yep," Jonathan said excitedly, "and I think I can tell which way it came from. Right down…here," he began leading Charlotte down a series of corridors and slowly but certainly it began to grow brighter. They finally made their way to a pair of staircases, one leading up into the light and another leading down into deeper darkness. Jonathan could see the night sky and a few plants at the top of the upper staircase. On the other hand, Stella and Loretta were unquestionably further down.

"So which way?" Jonathan asked uncertainly.

"I'll go with up," Charlotte said, conflicted, "I mean, I know that Stella and Loretta are further down, but these tunnels are giving me the creeps. We haven't been attacked but I feel…I mean…it's like there's something down here with us…I can just feel it stalking us, but whenever I look around there's nothing there. I don't want to leave them down here by themselves but—"

"It's alright Char," Jonathan reassured her, giving her a soft pat on the back, "you don't have to explain yourself to me. I think we went over that at some point before, but I can't remember when. Anyway, up it is."

"Thanks."

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't wait on my lady's wishes?"

"That just does _not_ sound anything like you," Charlotte giggled, "but I appreciate the thought, really. I do!"

"Thanks," Jonathan blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head, "Let's go?"

"Right behind you," her response was inaccurate in that she raced up the stairs as quickly as she possibly could, ending up out of breath by the time she had gotten to the top. A chill ran down her spine as her fear dissipated in the moonlight. They were in a garden. They could see a few unes and mandragoras, but other than that, it seemed like a normal garden, albeit filled with exotic and outlandish plants.

"Vaht are you doing een my private gardens?" came a voice as outlandish as some of the foliage. They looked around to find a familiar face in the background. He was wearing a hideous brown trenchcoat, very dissimilar to the garish purple suit he had been wearing the last time they had seen him. But how was he even alive?

"Brauner?"


	4. Chapter IV: Garden of the Fates

**Chapter IV**

**Garden of the Fates**

* * *

><p>"Who ees theess 'Broaner' ov whom you speak?" the man with the bizarre accent asked.<p>

"Don't lie, we'd recognize your ugly mug anywhere. Come to think of it, you look uglier than you—wait a minute…" Jonathan cut himself short before he decided to rephrase his statement to a minor degree:

"Okay, who the heck are you?"

"_I_ am Count _Orlok_, eegnorant childe," the Count in question began walking towards them. He had a wide-eyed, open-mouthed neutral expression that displayed a pair of slightly crooked fangs. Charlotte immediately started flipping through a book. Jonathan took it upon himself to continue the conversation.

"Sorry 'bout that little identity mix up there. You look a lot like an old…friend of ours. Although now that I'm looking at you up close, I can't believe I could have possibly mistook you for him; you're _way_ uglier than he was, and let me tell you, he was tremendously unattractive."

Jonathan didn't even have to try to be offensive. He was just stating a fact, and he was putting it lightly. _Very_ lightly: The man _did_ look vaguely like Brauner, but where the late Vampire Artist had an oval shaped face, the Count's was shaped like an upside down tear. It was a perfect bald dome on top, but his chin coming to a sharp point that had angles that stretched up to his mid cheekbones. Whereas Brauner had an upright and even regal posture, Orlok seemed to be hunched over. He was paler than Brauner as well if that was even possible. It was as though he had passed the borderline of having skin that was completely deprived of color, and had gone on to having skin that was actually grey. His wide-eyed, open-mouthed visage didn't help very much. The trench coat was very heavy, and was an unsightly shade of beige. And unless Jonathan was mistaken, and he was sure he wasn't, the repulsive vampire even seemed to have a trail of rats following him.

"How _dare_ you eensult me! You are nott _vorthee_ of stahndeeng een my presence, human!

"Sorry, but we're actually vampire hunters," Charlotte stated matter-of-factly, "It's not as though you're—"

"_Silence_, voman! How _dare_ you speak vithout being spoken to! I command you to cease your talking!"

Charlotte was less offended than she was confused. She looked back at Orlok with a squinty gaze and a raised eyebrow.

"What?" she asked incredulously, "You can't really just go around telling me what to do."

"You do nott _leesten_, voman! You have no right to deesobey my command!"

_Now_ Charlotte's discontentment was beginning to show. She glared at the Count.

"And why would that be, pray tell?"

"I need nott eksplain myself to you, voman."

"Oh, you'd better. I really wouldn't mind taking out my spellbook and turning you into crunchy vampire toast.

"_Truly?_" Count Orlok chuckled derisively, "You theenk you can cast magics? Vomen cannot even _learn_ magics! Vaht need I fear of a threat from a voman?"

Charlotte glared furiously at the vampire and opened her spellbook to Explosion.

"You know, Count," Jonathan began casually, "I've known this girl for a long time—"

"And you let her act on her own? _Vaht_ kind ov master _are _you?"

"I'm not her master…I'm her friend…As I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted, I've known this girl for a long time, and I've found that it's _very _stupid to make her angry. I have the stitches to prove it. I'm telling you this for your own benefit. I mean we're _still_ gonna hunt you down, but even so, if you want to live _longer_ to _any_ extent, you should probably avoid upsetting her."

"Nonsense! She must learn to have a sense of propriety! She must _leesten_ and _obey_ the veeshes of the men. She cannot cast spells, because _no_ voman can use magics. They are nott _smart_ enough."

"I warned you," Jonathan said airily, "You _really_ shouldn't have said that."

"_EXPLOSION!_" Charlotte howled furiously. Flames spontaneously erupted around the vampire and he was suddenly engulfed in a torrent of fire so powerful that it stretched up into to the sky like a flare fired from a colossal flare gun. Orlok gave a scream that was constantly changing pitch. It was like listening to a song written entirely out of key. This wasn't even taking into account the fact that there were also squealing rats that had haplessly found themselves in the blast area. When the flames went out, Orlock lay on the ground, singed and giving off smoke. His trench coat, now sporting singe marks, looked even tackier than before. At least half of his rat company now only existed as charred skeletons. He managed to lift himself back to his feet, but was still unsteady. If Charlotte's trademark death glare could have actually made someone drop dead, the look she was giving Orlok would have banished him from existence entirely.

"How _dare_ you try to burn me boy!" the Count shouted furiously. Charlotte's face, already contorted in rage seemed to be reaching a level of pure hatred that Hitler would have wanted to aspire to. This made it all the more fortunate that he had died two years earlier. Jonathan was just looking dumbfounded and astonished at the vampire's apparent stupidity.

"I didn't do that," Jonathan said slowly, "I can't cast magic, I'd go as far as to say that I am magically challenged. I am literally incapable of using any sort of magic without Charlotte's help. Charlotte is the one who lit you up, and judging by the way that you're _still_ not acknowledging her even after she demonstrated her power on you, she'll be doing something twice as painful."

"You continue to lie to me. Vhy?"

"Because I'm not lying, I'm telling you the truth. She's a girl, and she's a powerful sorceress."

"Vhy do you theenk that you can fool me? No voman has the eenteleegence to cast magics. They are not even capable of studying areethmeteec or the sciencees. They can barely compreehend leeterature."

"_YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU ASSHOLE! THUNDERBOLT!"_

Intricate magical symbols appeared in the air high above Orlok, and from each one of them came a jagged arc of lightning, each bolt striking it's target dead on. Orlok howled that ridiculous scream again as he was electrocuted. He was actually lifted off of the ground by the static pressure and when the current ended he was knocked higher into the air and fell back down the ground. Landing hard on his back. Various parts of his body were still twitching uncontrollably. He tried to talk but all that came from his mouth was a severely stuttered 'S.' After nearly five minutes of listening to him go, "S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S," he finally managed to get a few uninterrupted words out:

"_Such eensolence! Fervell! _Ve shall meet again, and next time, you veell both pereesh!" Orlok seemed to disappear into his coat, and barely a moment later a bat flew out of the ratty piece of clothing. Jonathan barely got a glimpse of the bat's face but he could still tell that even _it_ looked ugly. Not that there was anything cute about vampire bats wit their sharp teeth and upturned noses, but this one was just wrong! The nose, while still upturned and pig-like was actually tilted downwards, and its eyes were deformed. They were large for a vampire bat and were squeezed into tight lines, though they remained open. Jonathan wasn't able to notice anything else beyond that, as Orlok flapped past his face, and disappeared into another part of the garden, followed at a slight distance by his surviving rats.

"What was _that_ about? Who was that guy?"

"I'm not sure, but I've read about a minor vampire called Olrox before. Maybe Olrox is really Orlok? Mistranslation of the name?" Charlotte theorized, "Either way, he is _loathsome_, I _despise_ him, and I want to chop him up into little pieces and make sure that he stays alive to feel the pain until the very end."

"That might make sense," Jonathan agreed, "but I could do without that little hate speech," Suddenly he jumped as something landed on his head.

"Jonathan! Don't move!" Charlotte exclaimed.

* * *

><p>"There's…a garden here?" Maria exclaimed with interest, "It's pretty."<p>

The garden was indeed very pretty: several flowerbeds ran along the ground and framed a small pool of water that was sustained by a waterfall that sparkled in the moonlight.

"Don't get comfortable," Alucard warned, "The gardens of Castlevania are no less dangerous as the rest of it. Vampires tend to like growing Mandragoras. They will pop out of the ground when you approach and they have a piercing scream that will knock anything nearby unconscious if they're not ready for it. And then there are the man-eating plants."

"Well, I guess there are more ways of spoiling a perfectly nice garden than I thought," Maria said with a roll of her eyes.

They entered and were startled momentarily as a particularly hideous bat flew past them and into the castle…and then, oddly enough, they had to dodge out of the way of a swarm of rats that were going in the same direction as the bat. Continuing on, they were being careful not to touch any of the plants, staying on the path at all times. There was a large weed growing out of one of the cracks, a clump of leaves and the occasional vine. Maria had made the mistake of stepping on it. The moment she had so much as touched one of the leaves, the vines had wrapped themselves around her ankle, showing themselves to be covered with thorns and strangely slimy. Maria tripped, cringing as the weed introduced her to a new world of unpleasant tactile senses. She pulled her leg away, and with some effort, managed to escape, though not without taking some of the sickening plant's slime with her.

"Are you alright?" Alucard asked, a hint of concern showing through his usually stoic voice.

"I'm fine. Grossed out, but I'm not really hurt except for a few scratches. They're not even bleeding."

"Avoid those as well," Alucard stated, "They're called unes. They are not a great threat, but as you have no doubt noticed, are very unpleasant to step on." He offered her a cloth to wipe the slime off with, "The slime is slightly corrosive. If you leave it for too long it can cause a burn." Maria accepted the cloth gratefully and started cleaning the slime off of her ankle.

"Can I hang on to this? You know, in case we run into any more slime weeds?"

"Go ahead."

"Thanks. I'll just go and clean this off."

Maria walked over to the fountain with the waterfall (sidestepping a pair of unes on the way) and dipped the cloth into it. The fountain was deeper than she had expected. In fact, she couldn't see the bottom. Based on what she had learned about the castle already, she took that as a sign for her to get the cloth clean and get away as soon as possible, because if there was room for something unfriendly to live inside it, that unfriendly something would come to say hello beyond a shadow of a doubt. And that just would just be counterproductive. Not frightening at all! She was about halfway through the un-sliming process when several bubbles broke the water's surface. Maria tensed, but opted to keep cleaning the cloth at risk of losing her hands. The bubbles indicated that whatever was under there would surface in front of her, not stay underwater and bite her. Her guess was proven to be right as a red, scaly fishlike head rose out of the water. It stared at her, giving her an unimpressed look, its outer eyelids halfway closed.

"Um…hello…" Maria said uncertainly. The fish continued looking at her with that unimpressed look in its eyes.

Suddenly it opened its mouth and shot a jet of water at her face, soaking her. She sputtered for a moment before shouting "Hey!" at it. She didn't expect a response, but it still felt good to vent on her aquatic assaulter.

"Go away," the fish said in a bubbly voice, its irritated tone obvious, "You're polluting my clan's front door. Now I'll have to clean all of that slime up."

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize that anything lived in there when I started, honest," she was partially lying, but if it would get her out of trouble with an unfamiliar life form, she decided that it was the right choice.

The fish then did something she wasn't expecting: It raised two finned arms out of the water, and grabbed the side of the fountain with a pair of webbed hands and pulled itself out of the water. The creature was like a cross between a man and a fish. It was scaly and covered in an assortment of different kinds of fins, but it had a humanoid body; arms, legs and all.

Maria watched in fascination as it went around to the side of the fountain and got what appeared to be a pool cleaner, as well as a bucket. It handed the bucket to her and started using the pool cleaner to get the slime out of the water.

"Don't just sit there," the fish…man…thing said, "Fill the bucket, clean your rag, and dump the water out on the ground. _Don't put the slimy water back into our doorway!_"

"Sorry, I was just a bit shocked," Maria said, slightly flustered.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a merman, just drop it."

"Well… I now know that the stories a read as a girl got you guys all wrong."

"Yeah, they usually do. Leave me alone."

"Jeez! Fine, I'm sorry, I was just trying to be polite."

"Do not bother with him," Alucard told her, "Merfolk are reclusive. They do not like contact with those not of their kind."

"I can see that," Maria said, getting the last of the slime off of her new handkerchief.

"Shall we move along?"

"Absolutely."

"Don't come back!" the merman shouted after them.

"No promises!" Maria called back.

The two of them left the alcove to find that it was in fact part of a much bigger garden, divided by open-air corridors. Maria chose one at random and they both began making their way down the hall. They made a few turns and were about to go around another corner when Alucard stopped her.

"Is something wrong"

"Something is casting a spell."

* * *

><p>"Jonathan! Don't move!"<p>

Jonathan stiffened. "What's on me?" he hissed.

"Don't worry. It's nothing dangerous…" Charlotte said in an oddly gentle tone.

She reached up onto his head with both hands, carefully scooping up whatever it was that had landed on him. It turned out to be a fruit bat, judging from its big eyes and dog-like snout. And it was hurt. Badly. Its right wing was twisted into a position that should have been impossible for it, and it had a large gash across its left side. Blood was already beginning to stain Charlotte's hands.

"Huh…poor guy," Jonathan muttered sympathetically.

"I'll see if I can heal him…"

They ducked into an open-air corridor, and upon emptying it of its former undead inhabitants, Charlotte began casting her Heal spell. That was when someone charged around the nearby corner, sword drawn, and was in mid swing before he managed to stop himself.

"Charlotte. Jonathan. I see you made it out alright."

"Did you find Stella and Loretta?" Maria asked worriedly, making her presence known.

"No…we found two staircase. One went up, the other went down. We opted to up. Charlotte was getting claustrophobic, or something. We think that something may be down there in those caverns. And whatever it was managed to get to her. If it can do that, then I'm pretty sure it's good at mental assaults."

"I'm not able to think of anything that does that," Alucard mused, "But I admit that my mind is a bit foggy."

"Hey what's that that you've got in your hands Charlotte?" Maria asked.

"It's a fruit bat…but it's…it's dying."

"Aww…I'm sorry. Do you think that this could save it?" Maria asked, pulling out the scroll that Alucard had found earlier on.

Charlotte looked at the worn parchment.

"Hmm."

"What is it? Can it help?"

"It might. But I can't cast this. It transforms an animal into a familiar by infusing it with celestial powers. Since summoned familiars can't be injured, the bat won't die."

"Let me try then."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm positive."

"Okay then here goes."

**Author's Note: (Okay, I'm not gonna lie: I can't make up a magic incantation for the life of me. I try and try, but I can never get it to sound right. Anyway readers, just…uh…imagine something here *Hides behind crate as rotten vegetables are hurled at him*)**

_Become my Bat of Solace!_

The effect was instantaneous. The bat's wounds knit themselves back together as a multitude of sparkling lights began to surround its body. The lights flashed once before disappearing before the bat leaped up from its position and began contentedly flapping around Maria's head.

"How do you keep doing this?" Charlotte exclaimed.

"I don't know," Maria answered, holding her hands out for the bat to land on, stroking its soft head with her thumb, "Those words just came to me. I didn't even know what I was supposed to say until the moment I was saying it."

"Okay, that's final then: You have a gift," Charlotte's tone didn't leave room for argument.

"Thanks, I guess." The bat curled up in her hands, and promptly fell asleep, disappearing as it did so.

"Where'd he go?" Maria asked, panicking.

"Don't worry," Charlotte assured her, "He'll reappear when he wakes up. Unless you dismiss him, in which case you'll have to summon him again."

"Oh," Maria said smartly, "Oh, wait, that makes sense."

Charlotte gave Maria a look that was eerily similar to the look that the merman had given her before it had spat in her face. "Let's just keep going," she said. Being met with agreement, they continued down the garden corridor. On the way they were going they found themselves face to face with an entire herd of catoblepas.

"Gwraaaaaaaaaaahhh," one of the metal cows drawled lazily.

"What's with the cows?" Maria asked.

"They're called catoblepas," Jonathan told her.

"So what makes a catoblepa so dangerous? I mean we've stopped in front of them."

"Catoblepas is both singular and plural," Charlotte interjected, "No such thing as a 'catoblepa.' And they breathe a gas that can temporarily encase you in stone."

"Gwraaaahhh," another one of the creatures groaned. It snorted and puff of thick grey smoke came from its nostrils.

"They are not aggressive actually," said Alucard, walking up to one of the beasts, petting it on its metallic carapace, "They're dangerous, but they do not actively attack you. They eat, they breathe, and they knock things over. If that thing is a statue, it will break, and a person encased in stone will be injured. Best not to kill them, they do not want to hurt you."

They followed his lead, and avoided any of the petrifying breath hat was floating around the area. Once they were out of range of the herd, they realized that they could hear someone sobbing. Whoever it was sounded female and was almost certainly in her late teens. Just to make sure they weren't falling into a trap, Charlotte glanced around a corner. Sitting huddled against a wall was a humanoid figure. She had a pair of red bat-like wings curled around its body, and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Is that a—" Jonathan began.

"—succubus?" Charlotte finished.

The figure unfurled her wings and looked up at them. She was curled up into a ball, arms around her knees. Makeup ran messily down her face, and her blood-red hair was slightly disheveled. "W-What do you w-want?" She asked miserably, "Y-You guys-s v-vamp-pire hunters? Go ahead and k-kill me. I won't even put up a fight."

"Huh?" Charlotte was dumbstruck, she actually felt really bad for the demon in front of her, "Is something wrong?" she asked cautiously.

"Non-ne of your busi-ness!"

"We…are vampire hunters, but…you know, I'm actually having serious second thoughts about killing you. I mean, demon of not, you look like a wreck, Jonathan assessed her.

The succubus let her head fall back onto her knees. "Go'way…"

"I'm not actually sure that's a good idea…can't we help?" Maria asked softly.

Alucard was the only one of them giving the demon a suspicious glare.

However, at maria's statement, The demon-girl's head shot back up, a look of rage written across her face.

"Vampire hunters. Asking to help a demon, yeah right! There's nothing you'd _ever_ do to help me! Get away!" she leapt up to her feet in a flash, her stiletto heeled boots clicking against the floor as she did so. She flapped her wings and slowly rose off the ground. She blew a kiss, though she didn't stop glaring at any of them for a second. She suddenly rushed at them, trying to take a swipe at Maria with her slightly claw-like fingernails. Alucard jumped to her defence, and the succubus swerved away, making a move to grab Charlotte. Picking her up off the ground, the demon threw Charlotte into a wall. To her disappointment, the witch managed to get back up.

Jonathan pulled out his Undead Killer whip and lunged at the demon. Dodging out of the way she leaped out of the corridor and flipped into the adjacent part of the garden, a somewhat empty area with only a few trees and bushes. Alucard followed her immediately and began a relentless assault on her with the Alucard Sword. She dodged a few of the lightning quick slashes but was hit by most of them, dark blood seeping from the cuts. She managed to acrobatically flip herself onto the top of a tree. Jonathan jumped and slung his whip around her ankle, pulling her from her floating perch. Quickly untangling herself in midair, she grabbed the whip and pulled it out of Jonathan's hands.

"A whip…kinky," she said. It would have seemed like the typically playful taunts of a succubus except that she was still glaring, "Now dance!" She hollered viciously, swinging the whip expertly at Jonathan, who simply pulled out his Agni's flame. Even so, he was still on the run from the assault she was making on him with the Undead Killer. He may not have been the whip's enemy, but getting hit would still hurt. He never got the chance to take a swing at her with Agni's Flame before she wrapped the Undead Killer around his legs and swung him into a wall.

"Piercing Beam," Charlotte cried. A huge beam of light hit the succubus dead on, making her collapse. Not for long enough though, as she managed to get right back to her feet. Making a dash towards Jonathan, she stopped right in front of him, lifted his chin up with her free hand and firmly planted her lips on his.

And then she did something that none of them were expecting:

She stumbled back, rubbing her tongue and lips off as though they were dirty. She fell to her knees and crawled up against the wall, readopting her former curled-up position.

Coming out of the daze induced by the succubus' kiss, Jonathan looked at her in total confusion.

"You…stopped?"

"_LEAVE ME ALONE!_" she shrieked.

"Charlotte, something's seriously wrong with her."

"Yeah, I can tell. She's a sex demon who's not able to kiss someone. What happened to you that could do this to you?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Charlotte said confidently.

"Fine," the demon sighed miserably, "But there's no way you'd have any experience with this. There's no chance that you've _ever_ met anyone as freakish as _him_."

"Who?"

"That Vampiric creeper, Orlok."

"Oh my _God_, what did he _do?_"

"You've met him?"

"Uglier than a rat and followed by a swarm of them?" Charlotte asked, "Treats women like property? Disgusting, sickening, vomitous, and every other vile adjective in the dictionary?"

"That's him. He…he…" she didn't finish her sentence.

"What did he do? I'd _love_ another reason to kill him."

"He kissed me and cursed me with what he thought was a love charm! Now I can't even think of anything involving sex anymore without his face forming in my mind. That's why I couldn't kiss your boyfriend to death."

"Wow, I can see how that'd ruin your sex-life," Jonathan said, ignoring the last part of her statement with a slight effort, "It'd ruin mine if _I_ were a girl. Not that I'd know. I just knew that he was hideous and was seriously offensive towards Charlotte."

"Well, we're already planning on killing him before we get out of here so— Wait, boyfriend? No! You've got it all wrong! We're not like that!" Charlotte stumbled.

The succubus perked up the moment that she heard their plans for Orlok. Maria on the other hand was looking at Charlotte questioningly.

"Huh?" Maria licked her lips, "Really? I always thought…I mean the two of you live together…You told me that you cheated him through high-school, and from what I've learned about you since we first met, you're generally a goody-two-shoes. You could have gone to Harvard but you went to Cornell to stay with him. And what about—"

"Shut up!" Charlotte yelped, her face turning a shade that would have made a pomegranate jealous, "We wanted to stay together as a team! That's all!"

"Maria giggled, scratching the back of her head, "Suuuurrrre, you just keep telling yourself that."

Meanwhile, their present demonic company was making note of the entire conversation with great interest. She was also a bit irritated.

"I'm kinda offended that you don't seem to perceive me as a threat anymore.

"Oh, sorry, Maria apologized, "We _have_ kind of been ignoring you. It's just that I couldn't miss that kind of opportunity to make Charlotte squirm like that."

"Just reminding you that you're chatting casually with a demon there Maria," Charlotte said uncomfortably, "and don't do that! It's so annoying!"

"If you're going to be killing Orlok, would you mind if I tagged along? I promise I won't suck out your souls."

"I don't think you _can_ do that," Charlotte said quizzically, "And even if you could, I'm confident that we could still beat you to a pulp. So you know what, sure. As Jonathan would say, 'no problem.' But if you hurt anyone here, just remember that I can turn you into toast in any given three seconds."

"Deal! My name's Scarlet."

"Well, it's surprisingly nice to meet you, Scarlet."

"Hey, can I have my whip back?" Jonathan asked.

"Huh?" Scarlet responded uncertainly before realizing that she was still holding the Undead Killer, "Oh, sure, here you go." She looked at Jonathan for a moment before noticing the multitude of weapons he was carrying. "Wait a minute, why do you even need it? By my count, you're carrying three other whips, and I can see two large swords strapped to your back, not to mention the four hanging from your belt."

Jonathan just looked at the demon with raised eyebrows as he took the Undead Killer back, "Let's just say that I've come extremely well prepared."

"Really? That's an understatement! You're concealing three knives, a pair of throwing axes, a pair of cross-shaped boomerangs, a double-barreled ricochet rock rifle, a hand crossbow, a pair of piercing shurikens, darts, and… a cream pie? That's even kinkier than the whip! And they're all enchanted so that they either always reappear in their holder, or never run out of ammo."

"Jonathan," Maria smirked at him, "Are you compensating for something?"

"No, and if you say that again I'll use the boomerangs on you."

* * *

><p>"My Lord," Slogra hissed, "Our spies have reported seeing the vampire Count Orlok on the castle grounds."<p>

"Orlok!" Death roared, "I banished him personally! How dare he show his face here again!"

"Oddly enough, My Lord, they said that he uses that very phrase quite often. Three times in a single hour in fact. He's less mentally acute now than ever before. It seems that he was extended a personal invitation to reside here by Camilla herself. No doubt she has plans for him, anyone as smart as she is would never allow a buffoon such as he onto castle grounds without a reason. She at least knows what she is doing."

"I should take that pathetic mongrel now, but that would deny us the opportunity to observe how this plays out. What is your opinion Slogra?"

"I believe that we should let him do as he wishes until he is either killed by the vampire hunters or Camilla disposes of him. It would make little sense not to watch his death. In any case, I believe his end will be most entertaining."

"Very well my servant. I agree with you. We should see how these events play out. I shall be watching with great interest."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: So, after having so much action in the past couple chapters I decided to tone it down just a bit. The monsters that we met this week weren't aggressive, except for Scarlet, who I guess has to count as an OC too. I'll try to keep her out of the picture as often as possible. Also, OrlokOlrox has been introduced! I may have made him a bit over-the-top, but I actually wanted him to be comically unlikable. He's ugly (perhaps more hideous than in his theatrical appearance), he's sexist, and worst of all; he talks with a stereotypical vampire accent! Good _God!_ Meanwhile, the Lecarde sisters are still lost in the catacombs and were not even featured in this chapter, Alucard is being at least a tiny bit social, and I think that Death may be getting his powerful presence back, which is essential to his character. Anyway, tell me what you think. I hope you liked my latest installment.**


	5. Chapter V: Escaping the Catacombs

**Chapter V**

**Escaping the Catacombs**

* * *

><p>Stella felt that situations were beginning to look up, both figuratively <em>and<em> literally. The tunnel they were in was sloping upwards, which meant they were going the right way. Even so, she was beginning to feel uneasy. Something wasn't right about these caverns but she couldn't figure out what. It wouldn't surprise her if they were haunted, but why hadn't the creature haunting them shown itself yet?

"Maybe it already has, and we just can't see it," Loretta offered.

"Was I thinking out loud?"

"I'm afraid so. But I know how you feel. This place is…disturbing."

* * *

><p>"So, you have two friends lost in the catacombs?" Scarlet asked, "That's not good. They have to get out fast."<p>

"Why?" asked Charlotte, praying that her suspicions were wrong, "Is there really something down there?"

"Unfortunately for them, yes there is."

"How long do they have before it finds them, do you think?"

"Oh, it found them the moment they stepped into its tunnels. For their sake, I hope they're almost out of there. Otherwise you probably wouldn't recognize their bodies even if you found them."

"Is it really _that_ dangerous?" Jonathan asked, giving Scarlet a questioning look, "I mean Stella and Loretta are pretty tough."

"Well…are they demons?"

"No…" Jonathan responded slowly.

"Yeah, they're dead meat."

"_Wait!_" Charlotte interrupted, "Why did you ask if they were demons?"

"Because this particular demon won't attack _other_ demons."

"Then we've got a job for you. Go down there and fight it yourself. If it can't fight back, it can't win."

"It'll still retaliate! And the only way I'd ever have a chance of beating that guy would be if I had a weapon. And even then, he can't be hit!"  
>She received some greatly concerned glances at this statement.<p>

"What do you mean when you say, 'he can't be hit'?" Alucard asked.

* * *

><p>Stella jumped a foot in the air as a knife embedded itself into the wall in front of her. Turning to look at where it was thrown from, she was unnerved to see only an empty wall.<p>

"Loretta, we'd better move quickly," Stella began as Loretta interrupted her.

"Stella!"

"We should try and get out of he—" Stella suddenly felt something wrap itself tightly around her neck. She barely managed to turn her head enough to see who it was that was depriving her of air. What she saw made her shudder. A purple-skinned man had her by the throat in the crook of his arm, holding a razor sharp knife frighteningly close to her jugular. The man had long jet-black hair that was spiked into various knife-like shapes. His face was eerily similar to a description Jonathan gave of a demon called Zephyr. Also similar to Zephyr was his leather armor and the fact that he had knives strapped to his hands. But what frightened her most about this demon wasn't anything involving his physical appearance: Her fear of this creature was stemming from a completely rational fear: All she could see of his body was above its waist. The other half of his body was only showing up as a shadow on the wall.

"Not good," Stella hissed, coughing for air.

He was staring at Loretta with smoldering orange eyes. The expression on his face was nothing less than psychotic.

"Move a muscle," he snarled, pricking Stella with the tip of his knife, "and I'll pull her eyes out through her throat."

* * *

><p>"He can melt into the shadows!" Charlotte gasped.<p>

"He's called ShadowStalker. He's Zephyr's younger and much more dangerous brother."

"Should we head down there?"

"No, I can handle this one. I tried flirting with him once. He likes me, but he's a total creep. Besides I don't think it'd make much sense in a bunch of us getting killed. If I die, I still need someone to forcibly castrate Orlok for me. If you don't I swear, I'll come back to haunt you."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Sure thing."

"So, you're okay with killing NightStalker because you find him annoying?" Maria asked unimpressed.

"I don't know whether I should be flattered that you're holding me to such high standards, or whether I should call you stupid and leave it at that. Face it! I'm a demon! I do bad stuff! And he's ShadowStalker by the way."

"Okay, sheesh…"

"I'll see you guys later then," Scarlet flapped her wings and dashed off towards the stairs that Charlotte and Jonathan had used earlier.

* * *

><p>Loretta was frozen to the spot, and metaphorical or not, the irony saddened her tremendously. She was trying to think of a way to stop the demon from killing her sister when something she couldn't have expected happened. The demon holding her sister captive was attacked by another demon. Shrieking in rage, the knife demon momentarily let go of Stella. That moment was all she needed to escape, knee him in the groin and run back to Loretta's side where she drew her rapier from its scabbard.<p>

"Let's take them both out while we still can!" Loretta suggested.  
>"I'll second that," Stella.<p>

The second demon suddenly looked up at them with wide eyes, "Wait! I'm on your side!"

ShadowStalker took the opportunity to sink into the shadows. The second demon got up off of the ground. "He's still here, pay attention to any shadows you can see."

"Oh, that's easy, there are only about _five_ flickering torches in the immediate area. Why are you helping us anyway?"

"Your four friends that are topside sent me to find you."

"You're with Jonathan and Charlotte?"

"Yep! I'm Scar—AAH!" The succubus screamed as a knife dug into her shoulder. She pulled away and spun around to face ShadowStalker, a trail of blackish-red blood flowing down her back. The knife demon grinned psychotically and dived back into the shadows. Three sets of eyes desperately tried to figure out where he would reappear; not an easy task considering that there were so many shadows everywhere. They were too busy trying to watch their own backs to be ready for him when he erupted out of the wall, leaping across the tunnel with the grace of a dolphin. He threw three knives at them before coming into contact with his own shadow projected onto the opposite wall by the flickering torches, diving into it head first.

Looking around apprehensively, Stella noticed one of the flickering shadows behaving strangely. Doing her best to appear unaware, she slowly approached the strange shadow. He was waiting for her. But not where she had expected him to be. After she had taken a swing at the shadow, it darted underneath her, and then went in a number of directions before ShadowStalker finally revealed himself, not from the strange shadow, but from a shaded corner of the tunnel to her left. He leaped out of the wall similarly to its previous attack. This time she was ready. She stood her ground and the moment before he hit her…

"Secret Strike!" Stella seemed to flash out of existence, immediately reappearing right behind the demon as he landed and slashing him in the back, opening up a deep gash. But she wasn't done; she never used this particular attack without following up with another. He had already begun to sink into the shadows when she shouted "Furious Wave!" and an immense concentration of wind gathered around her rapier. As she swung it in an upward circular arc, the winds roared to life, manifesting as a wave of tornado strength winds flowing along the ground. ShadowStalker was actually knocked out of his shadow and was sent flying. He didn't get a chance to hit a wall before Loretta finished casting Blizzard Storm and sent another powerful gust in the opposite direction. The ice shards coupled with the pressure of two conflicting atmospheric distortions seemed to be having a devastating effect. Stella's attack dissipated and Loretta's concluded as the knife demon was tossed into a wall by the blizzard. He crumpled to the ground. But when he looked up, his expression only served to unnerve them even more: His usual psychotic grin was still plastered on his face.

"Think you've beaten me do you?" he hissed, "_Think again! And do it quick 'cause it'll be the last thing you do!_" He cackled maniacally and quickly sank into his shadow. A moment later, a trio of knives came flying out of a shadow on the adjacent wall, all aimed at Stella.

"Sister! Look—" Loretta's warning of conscience was cut short as three more knives embedded themselves in her left arm and shoulder.

"Loretta!" Stella ducked under the incoming knives reflexively but was unprepared for ShadowStalker as he leaped out of the floor, stuck one of his knives clean through her right hand and snatched her rapier—all in the same flawless motion as he entered a shadow on the ceiling. Moments later, the demon's shadow appeared on the cave wall holding what could only be Stella's rapier. There was a noise that seemed to be something like a hiss but that also sounded alike a balloon popping as the demonic silhouette positioned the rapier between its hands end to end and effortlessly compressed it like an accordion, when it was tossed out of the wall, Stella found her rapier mangled and completely beyond any kind of repair.

ShadowStalker continued his knife throwing tactics. And as it was, Stella could only do her best to dodge the knives flying everywhere that were embedding themselves in the tunnel walls. The demon claiming to be helping them wasn't able to move without risking getting her wings pierced, and Loretta was unconscious on the ground. If things continued for much longer, they were utterly doomed. And that was when Stella realized something important.

"Hey, demon girl, can you see in the dark? Like, even if it were pitch black?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"And you're really here to help us?"

"Yes!"

"Good," Stella replied smugly, dodging another volley of knives, "Give me one second."

Stella ran over to a torch, she grabbed it and then ran to another, picking it up as well. She deftly avoided ShadowStalker again as he jumped out of the wall and tried to slash at her with the knives on his hands before letting himself be swallowed by another shadow. She reached the end of the hallway that they had come from, and tossed the torches down the long flight of stairs. By the time they reached the bottom, they provided no illumination to where she was standing whatsoever. She ran back to fetch the second pair of torches and did the same with them; and then there was only one torch left. She took it too, and dodged ShadowStalker again as he came out of the wall. There was no light left in the cavern once she threw the last torch down the stairs. As she ran back to where they were fighting one last time, she ended up stumbling and tripped just as ShadowStalker leaped out of the wall again. That fall ended up saving her life, and the knives aimed at her throat past harmlessly by the back of her neck. The demon prepared to fall back into the wall and—

—_Thud!_—

Stella grinned savagely. Her plan had worked.

"What! How?" the knife demon cried in terror, his only method of defense seemingly inaccessible.

"Didn't you ever learn that you can't have a shadow…without a light!" Stella cackled.

"W-well, it's not like you can do anything! Understand this: I can see you, whereas you can't see me! And even if you could, you're still unarmed! _You still die!_" ShadowStalker lunged at her and Stella felt the tip of a knife prick her left breast before it seemed to get tugged away—which is exactly what had happened: The moment that ShadowStalker jumped, the other demon dashed to his momentary position, getting to him right on time. She tugged him around and he spun in a quick wobbly circle. She had her fangs in his neck the same instant.

ShadowStalker's screams would have woken the dead were there any in the vicinity. When the demon girl finally released him from her fangs he was little more than an emaciated husk.

"I think that that's over and done with. If you wouldn't mind carrying your sister, you have a couple friends waiting for you upstairs. Anyway, my name's Scarlet."

"Well, I'm surprised that we were helped by a succubus, but I guess it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Scarlet said cheerfully, "Now follow me. I'm kinda playing the part of the delivery girl at the moment, and you two are the packages."

* * *

><p>"Do you think they're all right?" asked Charlotte.<p>

"I'm sure they're fine," Maria said, placing a hand on Charlotte's shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah. Besides, they've been hired for missions on their own before this, haven't they?" asked Jonathan, "Wasn't there that old man who wanted them to destroy a plague of zombies overtaking his town?"

"I thought you guys said that zombies were harmless!" Maria shouted apprehensively.

"They can pose a threat en mass. But it'd still take a _lot_ of them."

"Hey! What are we talking about?" a voice came from around the corner.

"Scarlet? Is that you?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, most of me at least," she said, finally coming into view. Stella and Loretta were following her closely.

"Wow, you had us worried!"

"Yeah, I can imagine. We found some pretty disturbing things down there ourselves. There was also a locked door down there. We think that if we can find a key that might fit we should check back down there as soon as possible."

"I agree."

Alucard cleared his throat loudly, interrupting their conversation.

"I apologize but I feel that it would be a wise for us to proceed. We shall only get ourselves caught by the denizens of the castle if we remain here any longer."

"Where should we go though?" asked Jonathan, "We still haven't found a way out of the garden yet."

"Then I would suggest that we _find_ such an exit," Alucard continued, "If it helps, I will take the lead for the moment. Do you have any objections?"

"Sure, go ahead," Jonathan agreed.

Alucard began walking down the open-air corridor without another word. He was thrown off balance however by an immense rumbling noise in their vicinity. Just beyond a nearby wall, a tower began to rise out of the ground. The sisters steadied themselves against each other; Charlotte and Maria were both plugging their ears, and Jonathan was trying to balance himself with one hand against a pillar. Alucard seemed to be completely unaffected by the quaking of the ground and he simply continued walking. When the world around them finally grew still again, Charlotte seemed to come to a realization.

"I see…so the castle hasn't been fully reconstructed yet."

"So it would seem," said Alucard

"Anyway, I'm off," Scarlet announced, "If I find out where Orlok's quarter's are I'll be sure to let you guys know." Without waiting for an answer, Scarlet spread her wings and flew up to a high window about halfway up the tower.

"We should get moving too," Jonathan agreed, who's up for checking out that new tower?"

"I have no objections," Alucard began, "but I would suggest against going inside there yet. I sense a powerful demonic presence coming from within."

"Then where should we go?" asked Jonathan.

"While you were waiting for the three women to return, I took it the liberty to scout the area. I found another route out of the garden into another part of the castle. It looked lie it might head back to the entrance as well as several other areas, so I would suggest taking this opportunity to restock on supplies."

"Nothing can replace my rapier," Stella sighed miserably, "Father bought me that the day I started learning to fence."

"Wow, that's rough," said Charlotte, "What happened down there?"

"Goddamn knife demon broke my sword. At least he got what was coming to him. What your succubus did to him was brutal. Even when I was a vampire, I don't think I ever sucked anything dry like that."

The moment Stella mentioned her former life of vampirism, Alucard did a double take at her. It was impossible to cure the Vampire's curse. If there were a way to do that, he wouldn't have had to leave Maria three hundred years ago. He kept his questions silent for the time being, but he was determined to find out what she meant when she said that. This wasn't something that he could let slide.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Short chapter, I know, but I didn't want to start on another chapter before on the wrong foot. If I didn't stop right then, I'd have had to stop in the middle of a gag that's coming up early next chapter. I'm just going to admit it: I got the idea for ShadowStalker from the Yu-Gi-Oh card Wall Shadow and the way it was featured in the TV show. I just made it humanoid and slightly more dangerous. Anyway, Oliver is back for the next chapter, just to make sure he doesn't become obsolete.<strong>


	6. Chapter VI: I'll lower the price!

**Chapter VI**

**Interlude, or, I'll lower the price! I-I'll _Lower_ The _Price!_**

* * *

><p>The team of vampire hunters left the gardens behind, entering a long white corridor. As they progressed they began to find themselves growing more and more uncomfortable. Loretta absently looked up and immediately wished she hadn't.<p>

"Um, everyone…you might want to look up, we seem to have some…spectators."

Staring back down at them like vultures were a terrifying number of strange red crows.

"What are those?" asked Jonathan, "I mean, I've seen blue crows and black crows, but never red."

"Be careful, those crows are red because they live off of only one thing: Blood," Alucard said forebodingly, "They can't turn you into vampires, but they can still tear you to pieces, they're incredibly vicious."

Jonathan drew his Dragon Slayer sword and hoisted it up in front of him. Charlotte opened up her spellbook to 'Chain Lightning.' Stella, who was now unarmed cowered behind her sister. Alucard carefully reached for is sword. The crows all struck at once, lifting off and then swooping at the group. Too late, Maria realized that she was being targeted by two of them. Just before they bit her, she was suddenly struck by a strong feeling of inspiration. She didn't know why this would work, she just did. As though she had always known. She didn't understand, but with two ravenous man-eating birds about to dig into her for dinner, she didn't feel like questioning the strange knowledge.

"_Doves of the Heart!_" Her two avian familiars instantly shot into existence and incapacitated the two offending parties. The crows dropped to the ground dead as the doves seemed to perch on her shoulders cooing in an almost relieved manner.

Jonathan, meanwhile, was swinging Dragon Slayer around in an unidentifiable pattern. For every swing of his sword, three crows would fall out of the air. In truth however, he was mainly just trying to keep them away from Charlotte while she cast a spell that would by all likelihoods save their skins moments after it was cast.

"_Chaaaiiin Lightning!_"

The moment the spell took effect a bolt of lightning shot out from her open palm striking one of the crows, frying it in the air. But the line of electricity didn't stop there. It continuously jumped from crow to crow, electrocuting each and every one of them. Moments later all the birds in the room save for Maria's doves were nice and crispy. Perhaps even too crispy.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Stella asked irritably.

"I hadn't noticed the crows! If I'd seen them before they were about to attack I would have cast it! And Chain Lightning takes a few moments to cast anyway."

Stella looked at her shoes, "I'm sorry…I guess that rapier meant more to me than I thought. I shouldn't be taking my anger out on you."

Charlotte just smiled and waved her hand back, not even bothering to say anything. Jonathan was already up ahead… They had passed a few adjacent hallways and a set of double doors before coming to a halt at the end of the corridor, it was a dead end save for an axe armor which seemed to be insistent on attacking them. It didn't enjoy the last moments of its existence.

"I thought you said that this hall would lead back to the entrance?" Jonathan accused Alucard.

"I did not guarantee anything. I just said…what are you doing exactly?"

The other party members were giving him equally questioning looks. Jonathan was plunging his sword in and out of the stonework floor.

"You're lucky that sword was tempered in dragonfire, Morris. Otherwise you'd be damaging it severely." Jonathan apparently ignored the reprimanding.

Charlotte suddenly noticed s pattern in Jonathan's apparent hole punching: He was moving around in a circle. He had almost completed that circle when there was a groaning sound like creaking stone and the floor beneath them gave way, flattening several zombies as it landed in the entrance hall.

"See," Jonathan laughed, "The floor was really flimsy, just like everything else in this accursed building." Nobody laughed.

"Okay, I make lame jokes, just _rub it in_ will ya?"

Maria immediately made a dash for the exit, avoiding the zombies like a disease they likely carried. The rest of them followed, except Jonathan who decided to try killing a few zombies just to see if he could end up summoning a wraith. He didn't get far when he heard Oliver cry out.

"They—They killed Jonathan!" At that moment while he was distracted the wraith he was hoping to kill rose up and knocked him clear out of the hall and into the front courtyard.

"Nah, I'm still around. I'm like that annoyingly incompetent henchman: You beat me up a hundred times, but I never learn my lesson and I keep coming back. You can rely on that more that a boomerang."

"You're still here?" Oliver asked, "I thought…"

"Hey, why does a boomerang make a terrible gift?" asked Charlotte with a grin.

"I don't know. Why?" Loretta asked curiously.

"Because no matter how many times you try to throw it away, it always comes back!"

Loretta went into a fit of giggles while everyone else groaned.

"What was wrong with my joke?" Charlotte asked.

"Everyone's heard that one Char…" Jonathan said sympathetically, a look of exhaustion suddenly written on his face.

"Anyway," Oliver began "What can I get for you? I just finished a pair of swords that I think Stella might be interested in."

"Really? Where are they?" Stella asked skeptically.

"Oh, they're set to appear in their pedestals in the castle once you pay me," Oliver said with a grin."

Stella glared at him.

"Um, how much for potions?" Charlotte asked worriedly.  
>"$100."<p>

Charlotte gaped, "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm completely serious, I got a pretty big shipment. There's a huge sup—"

"I love you Oliver!" Charlotte cried. Her proclamation was even convincing enough to unsettle Jonathan.

'_Wait a minute, am I _jealous?_ Why the hell…?'_

"Okay, we'll get nine for me and Jonathan, another nine for Stella and Loretta, and a third set of nine for Alucard and Maria."

Alucard's wince as Charlotte paired them together went unnoticed by everyone.

"So, Jonathan, if we tried this with Vincent do you know how much we'd be spending?"

"Probably enough for him to retire immediately?"

"…that too, but the actual calculation is $13,500."

"Sheesh, that guy must have been one hell of a cheapskate," Oliver observed.

"You're one to talk!" scolded Stella, "I'm being left defenseless until I can find those two swords. By the way, how much money have we got, Loretta?"

"We have about $30,430 from monsters."

"Do you have the funds ready?"

"Yes, Stella," Loretta confirmed, handing her a bag of money.

"How much do the swords cost?"

"$12,000," Oliver said simply.

"Here you go then," Stella resigned, handing the bag to Oliver.

"—apiece," Oliver finished.

Stella drew back her hand and smacked Oliver upside the head with the heavy bag of money, knocking him over before throwing the bag at his face–where it settled heavily.

"Oww," Oliver moaned.

"Just take it all, why don'tcha?" Stella glowered down at him.

Oliver quickly took the necessary funds out of the bag and tossed it back to Stella. Before running to hide in what appeared to be an underground tornado shelter.

"Let's hurry up and get moving. I need to find those swords Oliver's promised me."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: So, yeah; a lot of references to Vincent in this chapter. Cookies to anyone who can find them all.<strong>


	7. Chapter VII: Lord of the Locusts

**Author's Note: It may like I'm posting this chapter really early. However, the last chapter(s) were just really late. So please enjoy this next one.**

**Loretta's been mostly silent for far too much of the story, so I'm determined to give her more dialogue.**

**So, based on the title of this chapter what minor villain do you think is going to make an appearance in this chapter?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter VII<strong>

**Through The Marble Corridor /and/ Lord of the Locusts**

* * *

><p>"Okay," Jonathan mused, "there are a bunch of hallways around here; I'd suggest splitting up into two teams. I'll go with Alucard and Maria, and Charlotte can keep Stella and Loretta out of trouble."<p>

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Loretta's voice had been as sweet as ever when she asked her question, but the look in her eyes could have petrified a cockatrice. Stella on the other hand looked like she was trying to keep a vein in her head from bursting.

"I think what Jonathan is implying," Charlotte began, "is that the last time you two went hunting around on your own, you ended up getting turned into vampires, which is surprisingly insightful of him; you've got to give him some credit."

"Hmph. In your dreams," huffed Stella, running a hand through her elegantly braided hair, "I resent that statement."

"Resent it all you want, but you two have a history of getting yourselves into trouble," stated Charlotte matter-of-factly.

"Of course, and Jonathan himself _doesn't_ rush into things sword first?"

"I think that Alucard has proven his worth by keeping Maria safe. If he can keep her out of trouble, then I'm sure that he can keep Jonathan on a leash."

Stella and Loretta both rolled their eyes. Jonathan just looked at Charlotte aghast.

"What?" she challenged him, "I'm on your side here. Just trying to support you."

"That was still pretty harsh…" he gave her a look like a kicked puppy."

"That look hasn't worked on me since the fourth grade, I'm not apologizing for something that you've proven me right about so many times."

"You can be really mean sometimes," Jonathan mumbled.

"Really?" Charlotte grinned mischievously, "I _could_ do worse to you…just for a," —cough— "_hypothetical_ example, I could set you on fire, electrocute you, drop giant rocks onto your head, turn you into what could for all intents and purposes be called an ice cube…" she counted on her fingers.

"Yeah, I'm outta here—let's go—hurry!" Jonathan ran off down the hall.

"Alucard, Maria, you should probably try to catch up to him," Charlotte suggested, "I think I see him being assaulted by a maid with a vacuum cleaner."

"For some reason, I wouldn't be surprised if that were really happening," Maria scratched the back of her head.

* * *

><p>As it happened, the aforementioned situation was actually occurring. Persephone was a lot more devious this time around. She had actually pretended to cower, and the moment Jonathan had his back turned to her, she sprung from her crouching position and beat him about the head with the mouth of her vacuum hose. Jonathan wasn't exactly having difficulty beating the maid, but every time he came close to killing her she would start bawling her eyes out. He couldn't bring himself to kill her when she seemed so helpless, but the moment he tried to get away, she'd grab him and punch him in the back (or side) of the head. This went on for some time until Alucard appeared and lifted his cape by its hem, summoning a trio of fireballs (also eerily reminiscent of one of Dracula's attacks), that shot towards Persephone and ended up killing her. Naturally, she reappeared in another hallway moments later, but they'd deal with her again when they got to her. In the meantime, Maria was admiring the atypical dress that the maid had left behind. It was surprisingly unsinged from Alucard's attack. In fact…it looked almost brand new. She got a sudden urge to try it on.<p>

"'S'cuse me," she said pushing past Jonathan and through an adjacent door, "By the way, if I catch either of you peeping, I promise to murder you," and with that, she closed the door behind her. Moments later, a high-pitched scream came from behind the door. Jonathan was about to barge in when Maria spoke.

"I'm okay!"

"What the hell happened?"

"Don't worry!" she called back, "It was just some sort of magic…cyclops…head… —I can't believe I just said that… Uh, anyway, my doves flew through it and it…"

"It what?"

"Well, it's hard to describe: It made a face like a fish out of water, and then it kind of caught fire, became two-dimensional and dive-bombed the floor, but it was thinner than a piece of paper and it sort of melted before hitting the floor.

"Melted?" Alucard said, a hint of skepticism in his voice, "are you sure it didn't disintegrate?"

"Nope, it just melted in the air, and then it evaporated, and now there's really nothing left of it as far as I can tell. Don't come in."

"Sounds like a Dogether." Jonathan mumbled, before calling back to her, "You'd better be alright! I've gotta bring Charlotte's friend back in one piece or she'll do one of those things to me! You know…the things that she was talking about before we split up?"

"Yeah, yeah I get it, stop making me yell through the door! You're giving me a sore throat!"

"Oh…sorry!"

No response. Ten minutes went by. Then twenty.

"What is she _doing_ in there?" Jonathan grumbled. He went over to the door and was about to turn the handle when he found a sword at his throat.

"Respect the lady's wishes, or I'll take your head off where you stand before she even gets the chance to murder you as she said."

"Uh, sure thing…" he said backing away from the door, when the sword was lowered he added, "…Ye Olde Sir Nobleman…"

If Alucard had reacted to Jonathan's chiding, he didn't show it.

Finally, another ten minutes later, Maria came out wearing _not_ the bright green camisole, but a forest green corset-coat with gold lining and a silver trim.

Jonathan gave her an irritated look.

Alucard stiffened and his already pale face lost any traces of color it had. If he didn't already look like a ghost himself, one would have thought he'd seen one.

"I liked the maid's outfit, but then I remembered that Scarlet would definitely give me her two cents about it. And to tell the truth, when I found this in the sanctuary earlier, something about it just felt…right. It's like this outfit was made for me. I feel that it's missing something though.

"A gold ribbon—around your body between your bust and your waist," Alucard said automatically, before clamming up. His voice had been monotone, as if he were simply reciting an old memory.

"Wow, you know Alucard, that's a really great idea. Actually, when I go back home, maybe I'll wear this to formal events."

Alucard didn't respond. His face seemed devoid of emotion.

"Hey, Alucaaard? Alucard, please respond. Anyone home in there?" Maria waved a hand in front of his face with a lopsided grin.

"What?" he snapped, suddenly losing his tranquil façade, "What do you want from me? Why are you dressed exactly like her? Why do you possess the same abilities as she did? How dare you invoke her image!" he pushed her away forcefully and stormed off down the hall, his cape flowing behind him dramatically. Before he went around the corner he turned back to face her, his face a portrait of pure fury to her look of frightened astonishment. He looked her in the eye and roared: "Maria Renard is _dead!_" That having been said, he turned away, and continued around the corner.

"What was that about?" Jonathan asked.

"Beats me…but who's Maria Renard? Not to mention why the heck are our names so similar?"

"I can't answer that, but maybe Charlotte can. If she's important in any way whatsoever, she'll know everything about her. We can ask her the next time we get to a sanctuary."

"But…I want to know now…" Maria said quietly.

* * *

><p>The three girls had wandered aimlessly through the marble halls, but the corridor they were in now was different, and they all noticed it: The further one progressed here, the darker the stone became. There was a point far ahead at which the marble was actually pure black. Charlotte decided that it would be best to avoid that area for a while: At least until they met back up with Jonathan and the others. In the meantime she was preparing a spell that would leave a trail of bright red crystalline dust behind them; like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs, or the string given to Theseus before he entered the Labyrinth. These halls were a maze, and she had no intention of getting lost. She had found an exit, and she wouldn't lose it even to go find everyone else. She finished reciting the incantation and went on her way—<p>

—And promptly bumped into a rather angry Alucard as he rounded a corner. His uncharacteristic anger was duly noted.

"Is…something wrong?"

"No, nothing," he said, brushing her off.

"It's alright," said Loretta calmly.

"You can talk to us," Stella finished.

Alucard was silent for a moment before he turned his back to them.

"You're wrong. I can't talk to any of you. Not in the manner to which you refer."

"Why not?" asked Charlotte suspiciously.

"That is…not for you to know," Alucard muttered, "Enough of this. There are more important things to discuss. I found an ornate door with the figures of two swords engraved in it. They might lead to the location of the swords that Oliver referred to."

"Can you lead us to them?" Stella asked.

Alucard let out a heavy sigh, "Very well. Follow me."

The enigmatic man led them through various stark white corridors, occasionally dispatching the odd monster on the way. There was an abundance of skeletal fiends throughout the hallway. Charlotte figured that this fact was undoubtably causing Maria no end of discomfort. And now that Alucard had left them, it was just she and Jonathan. Something irritated her about that, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. It _was_ however distracting her from the fact that the less people around to protect Maria from undead class enemies, the more danger that she'd find herself in. Over the course of their trek through the marble halls Charlotte had found it filled with skelerangs, skeleton flails, jack o' boneses, and skeleton blazes, as well as bone pillars and white dragons. Also present were harpies, killer dolls, various armored foes and Loretta had actually needed to rescue Stella from being trapped by a Great Armor.

"We're very close now," Alucard muttered, having reverted back to his usual stoic self in the relative anti-social atmosphere. They turned the next corner and were suddenly hit by something. Charlotte was aware of herself screaming but it wasn't out of pain, more from a feeling of pure dread. And suddenly the intense fear passed. Alucard was on the ground, shuddering uncontrollably and Stella was unconscious. Loretta was more or less unscathed and she was tending to her incapacitated sister. Charlotte was about to check if Alucard was alright, but then she realized she should at least look at what had attacked them. She turned to face whatever was there, and recognized it immediately. The first things she noticed about it were its insectoid legs and disproportionately large clawed hands that were covering its head. It had green and brown leathery skin, as well as undersized wings that shouldn't have been able to keep its bulk aloft, but it seemed to be managing just fine. Although she could already make a good guess as to what it was, she waited for it to move its hands away from its head before she could be sure. She was proven right as it dramatically swiped its arms down at its sides and bellowed; more of a loud hiss than a roar. The dome shaped head; yellow eyes and tendrils coming from its mouth said it all.

"Malachi," she growled at it. She and Jonathan had brought down a number of these creatures. They were easily subdued by her magic, but despite their bulk, they were surprisingly fast. Before she could finish casting, it lunged forward and swiped her feet out from under her, knocking her spellbook out of her hands. The Malachi then did something Charlotte never would have anticipated. It grabbed her spellbook in one of its huge claws…and ate it. A visible change was immediate: The monster grew to about twice its already intimidating height and it changed colors from green and brown to red and black. Charlotte barely registered that it was now two heads taller than a treant…It had just destroyed her spellbook! She was barely holding off tears. A sudden wave of fury suddenly took hold of her. Pulling her Tome of Arms Completed Edition out of her bag. She vaguely realized that this kind of monster had never been encountered by anyone before. She may as well give it a name, "UltiMalachi," She huffed, "Lame, but no time to think of anything better," She rushed the creature head on—and was instantly engulfed by a gigantic orb of electricity. She shrieked in pain as the electricity coursed through her body, thanking Heaven for the protective enchantments on her clothing.

"That was…Thor's Bellow! It can use my spells just by eating my hard work! _You lazy cheater!_" It suddenly occurred to he that she had lost the Sanctuary spell. This was the crowning moment of her life then. Her greatest failure would be greater than any achievement she ever made in life. She discovered a spell that could cure vampire spawn, and then she went and lost it! She'd never live this down if she lived to be one thousand. She tried getting close to it again, but was swatted into a wall by its now jumbo-sized claw.

"Okay," Charlotte grimaced dizzily, "Third time's the charm."

She ran up to it, and dodged its orb of screaming Nightmares that had caught them all off guard earlier. This proved to be more difficult than expected. She was able to cast the spell better than any of the Malachi demons that she'd fought before. Now that it was carrying her power on the other hand, the rolling magical monstrosity was utterly colossal. She had to press herself against the wall in order to avoid getting hit. At least she had gained some ground on the attacker. Her satisfaction lasted all of three seconds as a Fireball crashed into her. She decided that the most apt expression to describe her situation was that her goose was cooked. She crouched on the floor awaiting the inevitable when a very familiar voice came from behind the demon.

"Holy smokes! This guy needs to lose a few pounds!"

"I'll say," came another voice, this one distinctly female.

"Well, no sense standing around here all day," there was the sharp sound of a whip being cracked, and the UltiMalachi roared in pain. It turned around, and swiped at its new attackers, Charlotte took the opportunity to lunge at the creature, she opened up the Tome of Arms and the signature spectral form of Excalibur shot from its pages followed by axes, lances and maces of all kinds. Once again, it turned to face her, but it barely was halfway around before it was struck again by a whip glowing with green light.

"The Undead Killer. Which means…Jonathan?"

"Charlotte? That you?"

"It ate my spellbook!" Charlotte cried tearfully, "And what's worse, it managed to steal all of my powers by doing so!"

"Whatever, you're a quick learner. But if that really is the case," the sound of a whip snapping back into place was followed by that of a flame igniting, "I guess I'll just have to reach into its stomach, get it back, and clean it off for you. No problem. This is gonna be fun."

Charlotte couldn't see him, but she was sure he was smirking; she felt her tears stop flowing and the stains on her cheeks began to dry up. The UltiMalachi on the other hand decided to charge up for another one of its wonderful new Night Terror spells.

"You got your Tome of Arms ready?" Jonathan asked, "The one you compiled yourself over the past two years I mean?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's tear this ugly bug a new one!"

The UltiMalachi released the Night Terror, and there was a thud as Jonathan must have tackled Maria against the wall to avoid being hit. Once again, Charlotte felt that odd sense of irritation.

"What was that for?" Maria's voice confirmed her suspicions. Jonathan had tackled her.

"So you'd rather get hit by the ball of screaming horror?" Jonathan's sarcastic comment seemed to sufficiently shut Maria up for a while. The next scream came from the UltiMalachi as the blade of Dragon Slayer pierced through its back. The blade then was dragged through its flesh. Jonathan was apparently having a difficult time with it judging by the grunts and cries of "_Ow!_" coming from him. This demon obviously didn't want to be separated from its internal organs, but then again, what would _ever_ want that for itself anyway? There was now a semicircular arc on its stomach and that was when Charlotte saw Jonathan get picked up and thrown into the opposite wall. Charlotte jumped up, and tried using the spectral Excalibur from the Tome of Arms to continue cutting, but she was also knocked away. That was when Alucard got up. Drawing a huge sword out from under his cape, he plunged it deep into the UltiMalachi's body and with a single fluid motion he completed the circle Jonathan was carving. With a hard kick, Alucard 'emancipated' the center of the UltiMalachi's body. The demon suddenly went into convulsions, falling to its knees, and barely keeping itself upright. It changed back to its usual colors, and shrank back to its original size. Suddenly the convulsions stopped. It stood up, spread its arms, reared back, and roared one last time. Slowly, it began to turn pitch black to the point that they could barely make any of its features out save for its eyes. Flames enveloped its body, and it began to turn to ash from its feet upwards. Its howling only stopped when its mouth had disappeared.

Jonathan handed out potions to everyone, though he neglected to take one himself, leaving him with four potions left. He then held down his lunch as best he could and plunged his hands into the severed entrails of the formerly giant Malachi.

Charlotte looked away in disgust, choosing to examine Alucard's sword.

"What is it?" she asked, admiring its ebony blade and detailed crimson engravings.

"It's called Ascalon," Alucard answered her, "It's a legendary sword with a reputation for slaying dragons. Your friend Jonathan Morris has a similarly famous sword."

"Are you talking about the Dragon Slayer?" Charlotte asked, "We just found it in a ruler's sword's collection. There's nothing particularly special about it."

"A ruler's sword poltergeist just collects any sword it can find. It is not surprising that you found it among them. You call it Dragon Slayer, but its real name is Balmung and it is truly a force to be reckoned with."

"Well, I'll be sure to keep that in mind the next time I'm using it. I'll handle it with care, or something," Jonathan noted as he came up behind them. He gave Charlotte a sympathetic look, "The book was destroyed for the most part, but I managed to salvage some of the pages," he handed her a small pile of slightly damp paper.

"So what's left…" she groaned dejectedly. She began sorting through the pages.

"Raging Fire, Explosion, Chain Lightning, Ice Needles, Spirit of Light, Piercing Beam, Heal, Summon Medusa…and…_Sanctuary?_ Oh, thank _God_! I didn't lose it after all!" she sighed miserably, "This is less than a quarter of the spells I had in my book…"

"Oh, I also found a scroll where the Malachi-thing's body was," Jonathan added, handing her a sheet of parchment.

"Night Terror," she muttered, "This must be that supercharged version of Nightmare it kept trying to use on us."

"I'm going to go get some more potions," Charlotte decided, "I'll at least be able to find my way back—" she stopped and looked around worriedly, "Um, do any of you know where Stella and Loretta went? Because they're gone."

* * *

><p>Stella had since gotten up and without anyone but Loretta noticing, she had gone through the door with the sword engravings, followed closely by her sister. The hall was built of both black marble and white marble; black on the right, and white on the left. There seemed to be tiny tunnel-like structures going into the wall, but neither sister paid them much notice. If there was something behind those walls, they didn't feel like reaching through each and every hole trying to find it. At the end of the hall stood a single pedestal holding a pair of elegant swords. On the right side of the pedestal—black like the rest of that side of the room—was a black sword with a ruby embedded in its silver pommel. On the left–white–side of the pedestal, there stood a white sword with a sapphire encrusted in its golden hilt. Other than having inverted color schemes, the two blades were virtually identical. Engraved into each side of the pedestal was a short note.<p>

On the side of the black sword was an almost poetic verse:

'_Kaladbolg — I am the Power and Ferocity of the Demon's that forged me.'_

On the side of the white sword was written a similar verse:

'_Burtgang — I am the Grace and Mercy of the Fairies who fashioned me.'_

"Hmm, it's interesting to say the least," Loretta noted, "These swords are twins, but they were forged by two opposing forces."

"Wait, how could they have been forged by fairies of demons if Oliver's the one who made them? Oh, wait…I know," Stella glared at the wall, "I know _exactly_ how!"

"You think he ripped us off?" Loretta asked.

"No, I _know_ he ripped us off. For his sake, they'd better be worth the money we gave him, or he won't be able to reproduce by the time we're all off the Castle grounds."

"How delightfully violent of you to imply, madam," came a posh sounding voice.

The sisters whirled around to find what appeared to be a creature that had a human head and the body of a cricket. His skin was a very pale shade of green, and his turquoise hair was slicked back elegantly. He also wore a deep blue coat with four tails. It had a bright red lining. They also noticed that he wore a golden glove on his (upper) right hand, which was carrying a conductor's baton.

"What…er I mean…_who_ are you?"

"Abaddon, madam. I would also like to apologize in advance. You see, my locusts are hungry, and they have just noticed you.

"Are you implying that we're supposed to be their dinner?"

"I suppose I am," Abaddon said with a shrug of his lower arms. He then raised his upper arms and the doors at the front of the hall slammed shut. The sisters didn't have to check to know they would be locked.

"Locusts! Come forth!"

Locusts suddenly began to pour from the multitude of small tunnels in the walls, and within moments the sisters and Abaddon were completely surrounded by a swirling, towering cloud of the insects. With a flick of his conductor's baton a wave of locusts came towards the sisters, who were barely able to dodge out of the way.

"You shouldn't struggle so much," Abaddon suggested in an almost helpful manner, "Don't make this any harder on yourselves than this has to be." Despite the noise made by the locusts, Abaddon didn't seem to be shouting to be heard. If anything, the buzzing only accentuated his aristocratic voice. How that worked, neither sister could imagine.

"You couldn't just feed them a couple of pigs?" Stella asked spitefully.

"Oh, no! They prefer to only eat the flesh of men."

"Well, I case it's escaped your notice, we're not men; we're women," Stella growled.

"Madam, you're missing my point," Abaddon said in exasperation.

"No we're not, we just don't feel like getting eaten," Loretta yelled, "Now then," she rose into the air and an intricate symbol appeared in front of her, "_Freeze Bite!_"

Several lupine heads proceeded to appear from in front of the symbol and then slowly made their way over to the Locust Conductor, chomping on any locusts that were in their way.

"Honestly, I don't really understand why you're so resistant to the inevitable."

"Quit you're blabbering!" Stella shouted over the roar of the locusts' wings, "Did it ever occur to you that _nothing_ really likes being eaten alive?"

"A necessary evil. Everything has to eat. Surely you understand, madam? You seem sensible enough."

"Locusts steal food anyway! Swarms of them ravage crops and ruin the harvests of entire countries! How can you say they don't get enough to eat?" Loretta asked in exasperation.

"Enough of this! You're trying my patience needlessly," the cricket-like demon raised his upper arms, "Locusts, devour!" he flicked his baton again and another wave of locusts came from the top of the swarm forcing the sisters to once again make a futile attempt to avoid them.

"Alright, that's it!" Stella looked down at herself, noticing that her dress was practically in tatters, "You're going to pay for this! The bloodstain I might have been able to wash out, but this is just ridiculous!"

"Stop worrying about your clothes Stella!" Loretta shouted.

"Loretta cast Blizzard storm in the direction of the pedestal! I need to get those swords!"

"Yes, sister!" Loretta jumped, her arms stretched out in front of her.

"_Blizzard Storm!_"

Thousands of ice particles filled the air in front of her and tore through the wall of swirling locusts.

"Not ideal," said Stella, "but better than trying to fight my way through a wall of crazed, flesh eating bugs," she covered her face with a gloved hand to avoid any stray ice and charged through the opening towards the pedestal, barely managing to get there before the locusts surrounded her again. She took the black sword, Kaladbolg in her right hand and the white sword, Burtgang in her left, and pulled them both out of their respective places on the pedestal. She gave them both a few experimental swings.

'_Funny,'_ she thought, _'they look like longswords, but they handle like rapiers,'_ a savage grin made its way across her face, "Perfect."

"Sister! Could you possibly hurry up? I'm not sure I can hold him off by myself for much longer! I'll need a tonic or at least a rest before I can cast any more spells."

"Oh, don't worry about a thing, Loretta," Stella shouted confidently over the noise of the insects' wings, "I think we're almost home free."

"But we've barely landed a hit on him yet!"

"I told you not to worry."

With another flourish of his conductor's baton, Abaddon sent more locusts flying at them, but Stella noticed something about the way he did it this time. The gesture he made with his baton was a flick that went forward, and then up. If her theory was correct, then the insects would be coming from right in front of them and then make for the ceiling. Sure enough, the locusts behind Abaddon branched off from their usual circular pattern and flew towards Loretta and herself. In one swift motion, Stella pushed her way in front of Loretta, swept both swords along the ground and shouted.

"Furious Wave!"

Not one, but two tornado strength walls of wind rushed along the ground from her swords and decimated the charging locusts. Running up to Abaddon, she started making a flurry of slashes and stabs, some of which he dodged, but others of which met their mark. He cried out in pain.

Stella continued her dance of death until the Locust Conductor managed to hop away. Knowing that Stella wouldn't give him enough time to catch his breath, he just flicked his conductor's baton her way again. However, he was just hit with a Hurricane spell and Stella walked through the gap in the locusts that were intended to attack her.

"S-st-stay back!" Abaddon cried.

"I don't think so," Stella growled with a vindictive glint in her eyes, "I'm feeling hungry, and I've heard that roasted crickets are sometimes eaten as snacks in Pensylvania."

"N-no! Please don't! Don't kill me! He tried to hop away, but Stella just appeared right in front of him.

"_Secret Strike!_"

Abaddon fell to the ground in two pieces, barely alive.

"Go back to hell where you belong," growled Stella.

"What would you have had me do?" the Locust Conductor croaked weakly.

"I believe my sister told you to feed them pigs instead of humans," Loretta stated coldly as the door unlocked.

"I—" whatever the demon was going to say was cut off. Because this time, he really did croak. The Lecarde Sisters left the room without another word.

* * *

><p>"What happened to you guys?" asked a startled looking Jonathan as the ragged-looking sisters came out of the room and shut the door behind them.<p>

"A big bug called Abaddon. That's what," groaned Stella tiredly, "At least I've got these spiffy new swords."

"Thank you for waiting for us by the way," Loretta said gratefully.

"Truth be told, we were not even sure if you would be here," Alucard informed them sternly, "We combed these halls looking for you and we only just regrouped here."

"We're sorry if we worried you," Loretta said, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly.

"Enh, it was no problem," Jonathan smiled and waved it off.

"Hey! I'm back!" Charlotte called, coming around the corner, "Oh! Stella! Loretta! You're back. Good to see you're both okay. You're okay right?"

"Yeah, don't worry about us," Stella said with a smile, "Although if you could buy me a new dress, I'd be—" Loretta elbowed her in the stomach before she could finish.

"Your dress is ruined because you chose to wear it here and no other reason. You should have worn something more appropriate."

"Hey, Charlotte, what's that you've got there?" Stella asked noticing a long package wrapped in brown paper held under her arm.

"Oh, this?" Charlotte asked, glancing at the wrapped parcel, "Actually it's for you. Oliver told me he'd wanted to give them to you earlier, but he was too frightened," She handed the unknown item to Stella, who was giving her a look.

"Frightened? What's to be frightened about? Loretta, am I frightening?"

"Not particularly," Loretta answered slowly, "but you _can_ kind of have a short temper, and you tend to act on your anger. Which, I'll be honest, isn't a good thing."

"Oh dear," Stella looked a bit dejected.

"Look, let's go back to the long corridor that we found earlier," Charlotte interjected, "And Stella, open the box up; I know you'll like them. They're even your color."

"Wait, are they a new outfit?" Stella asked a bit excitedly.

"Sorry no," Stella's smile fell off of her face like a bowling ball on the edge of a coffee table, "but they will give you a place to keep those new swords of yours."

"Well, I may as well have a look," Stella decided, tearing the wrapping paper off carefully. Inside were a belt and two scabbards that looked like they were designed specifically to hold Burtgang and Kaladbolg. On the left side of the belt was a black and red scabbard with a silver trim, obviously for Kaladbolg and on the right was a white and blue scabbard with gold trim for Burtgang.

"Well, they _are_ nice," Stella decided, strapping the belt on and walking around testing the balance of the scabbards after sheathing the swords "And they're easy to walk around with. These are great. Note to self: Don't kill Oliver after all."

"I don't even want to _know _what you meant by that," Charlotte shook her head.

"So, we all set?" Jonathan asked. There was unanimous agreement and Charlotte directed them back along her track of red crystals to the final corridor where the hall changed from white to black.

Around the center of the corridor they stopped into a sanctuary. Best to be prepared for whatever was at the end of this hall. That was when Jonathan remembered that Maria had wanted to ask Charlotte about the woman that Alucard had spoken of. He went up to her and quietly voiced the question.

After a few moments Charlotte answered, closing the book she was reading.

"I believe that she was a girl who accompanied Richter Belmont on his quest to defeat the dark priest Shaft as well as to slay Dracula once again."

"Wait am I hearing you right? The dark priest _Shaft?_ Seriously, what were his parents _thinking_ when they named him?" Jonathan laughed giddily.

"Come on Jonathan, it's not _that_ funny."

"No, it is, it definitely is. What was it that I asked you a minute ago?"

"Who Maria Renard was."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Anyway, do you know anything else about her?" Jonathan asked.

"Sorry, but you know that I only started studying this area in earnest a few months ago. I'm still reading the story of Leon Belmont. I've gotten to the part where the succubus tries to trick him by disguising herself as his fiancée. There's a lot about how worried he is for his friend Mathias Cronqvist. He's apparently been bedridden since before Leon left to rescue Sara. Based on the amount of respect Leon has for him, he's probably important. What I don't understand is why I've never heard of the Cronqvist family before."

"That would be kind of strange. Glad I'm not studying it. I wouldn't have the patience to do that kind of digging."

"I know," Charlotte sighed, unimpressed, "You wouldn't."

"So, you're sure you don't know anything else about her?"

"Sorry, I can't help you."

Jonathan went over to deliver the disappointing news to a soon-to-be frustrated Maria.

Two hours later they left and continued down the hallway. Finally they reached the end and found themselves in a circular room at the foot of a tall spiral staircase.

The six hunters ascended quietly, unsure of what to expect. They hadn't been attacked even once—by anything—since they had arrived at the long hallway. As they reached the landing they found themselves in a similar room to the one below them. The only real differences were that instead of just having an archway separating the two areas, there was a set of double doors and that those doors were in front of them instead of behind them as the archway would have been if they walked back down these stairs.

Jonathan cautiously opened the doors and peered inside: The room he saw on the other side surprised him, as it looked very similar to a reading room at one of Cornell University's libraries. Books lined the walls and there were some very comfortable looking chairs in various places in the room. There were even a few desks here and there, although what a vampire would ever need multiple desks for Jonathan could not imagine. He could barely comprehend a vampire ever writing anything anyway. Then again, Brauner had been a painter, and that was _kind of_ like writing, wasn't it? Everything in the room was still. He gestured for the rest of them to follow him inside which they did. They had barely all walked inside before the doors slammed themselves shut. They all whipped around in shock, only to see nobody there…at first. They heard footsteps coming toward them as a powerful voice came from a balcony above the door.

"Salutations," said the voice, "And…welcome to my castle."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Well, this was certainly a long chapter. Compared to my previous updates this is practically a double feature. I felt that you deserved something special after only getting a pair of filler chapters last time. Either way, you deserve it after my crummy last update that was almost entirely filler. Anyway, it looks like something interesting is going to be happening to our heroes very shortly. I hope I didn't put Alucard too far out of character in this chapter. I just figured he'd react that way if he saw someone looking exactly like Maria. And speaking of Maria, she now looks almost exactly like her namesake. Wow, that was redundant.<strong>

**UltiMalachi? I confess that I blatantly stole the Ultima concept from Square Enix. Pretty lame name too.**

**You probably noticed that here were a _lot_ of weapons mentioned in this chapter. Well, I decided that since I've got a big profile of weapons of each character, I might add the weapons mentioned in each chapter in a little subtext thing. So, here you go:**

**_The Armory:_**

**Jonathan's Weapons:**

**Balmung**** – **_A legendary sword that Jonathan found in his last adventure and knew it only as 'Dragon Slayer.' Identified by Alucard._

**Undead Killer** – _A whip modeled after the Vampire Killer. Not as effective or powerful, but won't slowly kill its wielder either._

**Charlotte's Weapons:**

**Complete Tome of Arms** – _All four volumes of the Tome of Arms all in one book! YAY! Compiled manually by Charlotte over two years._

**Stella's Weapons:**

**Burtgang** – _A defensive sword forged by fairies. Twin sword to Kaladbolg._

**Kaladbolg** – _A razor-sharp sword forged by demons. Twin sword to Burtgang._

**Alucard's Weapons:**

**The Alucard Sword** **–** _Alucard's most powerful and preferred weapon. It's a family heirloom and a memento of his mother.  
><em>

**Ascalon **– _A huge, deadly dragon-slaying sword of legend._


	8. Chapter VIII: Toccata of Nightmares

**Chapter VIII**

**Toccata of Nightmares: The First Movement /and/ Horrific Truths**

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><p>"Salutations," said the voice, "And…welcome to my castle."<p>

The six companions watched as an elegantly dressed figure appeared on the balcony above the door they had just come through. He wore a suit of armor that was dark red, like the color of recently dried blood. He also wore a black cape that hung over his shoulders. His defining feature however, was his long, blazing red hair, which he had done up in a low ponytail that hung to the middle of his back. The rest of his hair framed his pale but handsome face elegantly. Jonathan, Charlotte and the Lecarde sisters didn't need to see his fangs to know that he could be none other than their target, the vampire Alastor Bernhard.

"I trust that you are all…enjoying your stay?" he chuckled, "I confess that I am impressed that you have made it this far. However, mark my words: You have only survived thanks to Mathias' meddling. You wouldn't have lasted a day, without all of his sanctuaries."

Charlotte looked at him suspiciously, "When you say 'Mathias' do you mean Mathias Cronqvist?"  
>"Do <em>not<em> utter that cockroach's name in my presence!" he raised a gauntlet-encased hand, and an orb of darkness shot from his palm. Charlotte was knocked into the bookshelves and a multitude of dusty tomes buried her in seconds as the entire unit collapsed.

Jonathan suddenly felt something in his bag pulse. He wasn't expecting to need it so soon, and he didn't want to use it either. But despite his reluctance, he pulled it out. There was also a lot of motivation to use it seeing as the vampire had just attacked Charlotte. Stella and Loretta gasped as they saw him gripping the Vampire Killer.

"Why? Why'd you bring it! It'll kill you if you use it too much! You know that!" Loretta shouted. Once again, Alucard glanced at the two sisters with a look of intrigue. How would they know that?

Jonathan didn't seem to be paying attention to them. He glanced He narrowed his eyes at Alastor, "You hurt Charlotte. You can go ahead and do that, but we charge a very steep price!" he jumped up to the ledge and swung the whip in a wide arc. The vampire laughed diabolically and raised his arm. His body faded away into a swirling black outline of himself and transformed into a colony of spectral bats that flew a few meters away before grouping together and reformed into the vampire's body.

"You'll have to do better than that. Consider yourself lucky. I won't kill you or your friends just yet. Frankly, I should thank you for doing away with that bastard Cronqvist for me; but that is the only reason for which I stay my hand: If you continue to invade my castle, I shall see to it that you all meet grisly ends. Farewell!"

With that he raised his hand and laughed that terrifying laugh of his. Once again, he became a mass of spectral bats, and moments later, they flew up and through the ceiling, presumably back to his chamber at the pinnacle.

Moments later Charlotte reached out from beneath the pile of books.

"Hey! A little help here?"

"Charlotte!" Jonathan shouted worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"No need to yell, I'm right here," she chuckled, "I'm fine, although I feel kind of sad that I was almost killed by a load of books. The irony of that just sickens me."

"Yeah, that would be ironic. Terrible, but ironic. I couldn't imagine being killed by something that I took solace in."

"Doesn't matter too much. I might even laugh if that happened to me. Inaudibly of course, but like I said, that doesn't matter too much. Why aren't you pulling me out?"

"Okay, on three, you're going to shove yourself forward and I'm going to yank on your arm."

"Okay, although wouldn't it just be more effective to just clear the books out from on top of me?"

"That pile is the only thing keeping those shelves up. If it goes, at least one of us would be crushed to death."

"Okay then; on three," Charlotte resigned, "Everyone stand back."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!" Jonathan pulled with all his might and Charlotte managed to break free of the pile.

"I have a few questions," she said as she dusted herself off. "I'm going to get back to reading that book about Leon Belmont while we're here. Why did Alastor keep talking about Mathias? And what did we mean that we'd killed him? He's obviously important. Maybe I'll find some clues in Leon's story."

Let's just hang around here for a bit anyway. It's safe enough I'd say," Maria suggested from the balcony.

After a couple hours, Stella went over to Jonathan.

"Why did you take it with you?"

"I didn't plan on using it actually, I only brought it case of an emergency," Jonathan confessed, but when Alastor hurt Charlotte…Something just happened…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not really sure myself. I just felt this intense rage coming from the Vampire Killer. When I fought Dracula, something similar happened, except that when I was fighting him, the emotion that I felt from the whip was more along the lines of pity, or something like that."

"Why would that be?"

"Because more than anything, she must hate the Bernhard clan than any other vampire," Charlotte's voice sounded empty, like she was on the verge of tears.

"What do you mean by 'she'?" Jonathan asked carefully.

"Sara…S-Sara Trantoul. Her soul was bonded to the whip when…Leon killed her with it!"

"What? But didn't you tell me that they loved each other more than anything? Why would he do that?" Jonathan shouted.

"Because…Walter had turned her into a vampire! She let herself be killed before she lost her humanity. The reason for the Vampire Killer's incredible power…is because it was forged with the willing assistance of a creature of darkness," tears began to flow from Charlotte's eyes, "but the fact is that Leon had to kill her himself! No one else could do it! It must have felt like they were both having their hearts torn out. There's no wonder that the whip hates Alastor. Sara wants to slaughter him like the filthy animals he and his grandfather are… or were…in her fiancée's name, seeing as he can't anymore."

"I'll be glad to oblige her then," Jonathan muttered.

"I'll-I'll just get back to reading," she mumbled, "I'm almost at Leon's dramatic confrontation with Walter."

They spent another two hours in there as Charlotte read until finally her eyes widened in horror.

"No…"

"What?" Jonathan asked.

"It can't be…the author must have made a mistake. That has to be it."

"What's it say Charlotte?" Stella asked.

"Walter's just been killed. But Mathias has showed up at the top of the castle. And he's taken control of Death using an artifact called the Crimson Stone. That explains why Walter has never has been able to come back, but that would mean…that would mean that Mathias became Dracula!"

"Really!"

"He gave Leon the option to join him. In the book he says that seeing as he's lost the love of his life as well, he'd understand. How could be so ignorant? After all the praise that Leon's given him throughout the book, that's what he is."

"So that's what Alastor meant…" Jonathan muttered.

"It gets worse," Charlotte choked, "He admits to using his own best friend, Sara herself, and even Walter!"

"Yikes," Jonathan exclaimed, "The guy really _was_ a genius tactician."

"But the worst part of it was that…he did it…he did it all out of love!"

"You're kidding?" Loretta gasped.

"No. His wife Elizabetha fell ill while he was on a Crusade and he rushed home to her. She…She died literally just as he was coming to her bedside. Honestly, I can't even bring myself to blame him," Charlotte was in tears again, "He fought in God's name all his life and then God took the person he cared about more than anything from him. He declared war on God for this. I'd have supported him if he didn't seem so proud of himself. He orders Death to kill Leon when he refuses, but Death was defeated in the ensuing battle."

"That is correct," Death's voice came from everywhere in the room before he appeared above the balcony, terrifying Maria and startling everyone else.

"Leon was a worthy adversary. Much more powerful that you Morris, though I might say that _you_ might have stood a chance against him Miss Aulin. I was defeated and my physical form vanished for many years. Eventually, Leon remarried a woman he didn't love to continue his bloodline," Death said, "but he died before his son was even born. They buried him with the Vampire Killer, but a year later grave robbers who wanted the whip for themselves desecrated his tomb.

"They opened the coffin to find that his body was gone. There weren't even any bones left. The first thief who touched the whip died instantly and the second one tried to bring it to a priest. His skeleton was found the next day in front of the town's church where the holy man picked the whip up. It was only by chance the he happened to be the minister who was to arrange Leon's marriage to young Miss Trantoul, and he hid it from the world until the next Belmont returned to claim it."

"That's a pretty sober story," Jonathan muttered.

"I wouldn't know," Death responded, "Carrying out the ultimate law of the world is no more than a job and a responsibility to me. I have no need to judge myself for my actions."

"That's very true," Alucard quipped.

"Of course. You would know better than anyone else here, wouldn't you," Death chortled slyly, a sound like shaking bones.

"Do you two know each other?"

"Oh, not at all," Death's voice tapered away into an echo as he slowly faded away.

Death's voice echoed from around the room even as his presence vanished.

"And wipe those tears from your eyes Miss Aulin; that is no way to present yourself to the Ancient Librarian. I would advise you to take a look at the coin I gave to you."

"That's right," Maria noted, shivering, "He said that it would lead you to whatever he wanted you to find didn't he?"

"That's right," Jonathan remembered, "Let's see what that thing's for."

Charlotte picked herself up off of her place on the floor and reached into her blouse's pocket. The silver coin that had been blank when she had received it now bore a design that looked like a book of some sort. As she held it, she found that it was pulling her in a certain direction. For some reason she felt strongly compelled to follow it. Without another word she headed for the door on the balcony.

"Charlotte?" Jonathan grabbed her by her shoulder, "Where are you going?"

She seemed to snap out of her trance at this.

"Oh! This coin…I feel like it wants to take me somewhere. Although, the memory I have of walking up here is kind of hazy…which worries me. Do you think you could come with me?"

"Um, sure," Jonathan complied.

"You know what? I think I'll come too," Maria piped up.

"Are you sure," Charlotte asked with effort. She felt the coin exerting control over her again and keeping herself under her own control was expending a great deal of focus.

"I have a feeling that you might need me. I don't know why; I just do."

"Okay, I guess it's alright, but promise us that you'll be careful," Jonathan insisted.

"Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Alright then. Let's go, Charlotte."

His partner didn't hear him, already having left the room under the coin's influence.

"Hey! Wait up!" Jonathan shouted despite his suspicion that she couldn't hear him anyway. Not wanting to get left behind, Maria followed him as he rushed down the hall in pursuit of their friend.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: *Gasp* *Pant* *wheeze* Sorry I'm late! Please forgive me! I was on vacation in New York and then I was in Ithaca for a few days. Home of Cornell University. Yep, I was on the site of the first chapter in this fic! I also narrowly missed Hurricane Irene and I <strong>_**did**_** miss a spectacular lightning storm back home. Anyway, was anyone expecting Charlotte to get the Book of Binding after the malachi ate her spellbook? Yes? No? Anyway, it's a fun twist I think. Also, who knows what game this chapter's title alludes to? Hint: It has to do with that game's boss battles.**

_**The Armory:**_

**Jonathan's Weapons:**

**The Vampire Killer** –_ The legendary whip wielded by the members of the Belmont clan. For more details, see its page on the Castlevania Wiki._


	9. Chapter IX: Tome of Captive Souls

**Author's Note: I am SO SORRY! I said I'd get back to regular weekly posting, but I failed! Make no mistake: This story isn't dead, not nearly; it's alive and kicking! And there are multiple unposted chapters ready. Five of them, in fact! I can't post them all right now, but keep watching for updates, my faithful readers, and thank you for putting up with my lateness. My reason for not posting: My dad blocked . He thinks everything on here is crap. Sure, a lot of it is, but some of it's great. Like this! Right? Right! O_O Come on! Don't just leave me hanging here! Right!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter IX<strong>

**Tome of Captive Souls: The Book of Binding**

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><p>Jonathan and Maria quickly caught up with Charlotte, as she wasn't moving any faster than walking speed in her trance. They followed her down several corridors filled with books. It was almost disturbing that Charlotte was just walking past them without trying to see as many possible titles as possible. Something was just wrong about that. There were several things on these shelves that he figured she'd be overeager to look at. <em>Divine Powers and Their Many Uses<em>. _The Occult Bestiary_. _The Secret History of Walachia_. Normally he wouldn't have spared the books more than a passing glance, but with Charlotte's bookishness being neutralized, he felt almost like he was responsible to find these things for her. Jonathan suddenly noticed that they had come to a halt in front of a pair of large double doors.

Charlotte held her hands out in front of her and pushed the heavy wooden portals inward. The room inside was almost pitch black except for a ray of light illuminating a stone podium, upon which rested a thick book. She approached it, and Jonathan accompanied her. As she walked up to the podium she seemed to come out of her dream-like state. After a few moments she spoke:

"The coin took me here?"

"That's what we're guessing," Jonathan tried to answer despite the fact that he felt a bit clueless.

"So is this book what Death wanted me to take?"

Jonathan took a good look at it. It had green and gold edging and was bound in sturdy leather. "_The Book of Binding_," he read aloud, "I'm not absolutely positive, but seeing as you came out of your trance right in front of it, I'd say it is."

"Well then, I like it," she reached out to pick it up when it rose from its position on the podium and hovered in the air. It startled all of them when it snapped open to a random page and flames shot out from its inner spine and flew to the room's four corners, where they spread out to frame the room. They could see now, but that didn't really matter seeing that they couldn't get out: The book had just shot a ray of light at the doors. They not only closed, but also transformed into brick structures that were shaped like doors. It was physically impossible to escape from this room.

"You think this was his plan all along?" Jonathan shouted over the roar of the flames, "The goddamn liar pretends to congratulate us and say that he's neutral and then kills us when we're finally in a false sense of security!"

"I don't know! Maybe?"

At that moment the book flipped its pages again, opening to one that showed an image of Cerberus, the three-headed mastiff that guarded the entrance to the underworld. Moments later, the dog on the page moved. It then stepped out of the book and grew to what they guessed was life-sized for it. It had a somewhat ethereal appearance, slightly translucent and with a colorless aura framing its body. Each of the three heads looked at one of the three companions and snarled ferociously. It pounced at Maria, who ducked just in time for Cerberus to dive into the flames. They nearly felt relieved but moments later, the three-headed dog leaped out of the fire and pinned Charlotte under one of its paws. Jonathan pulled out his Nebula Whip and directed it at one of the heads to distract it before he followed up with a swipe at the paw that was holding Charlotte down.

"Thanks for that. I thought…he was going to bite my head off," she panted, gasping for breath.

"No problem, but he still will bite it off it you don't move!"

She ducked, and slid did a sliding dash along the ground just as one of Cerberus' three sets of jaws snapped shut over the spot she'd been in only seconds earlier.

Putting away his Darkfire Whip, he got Balmung ready. He took a swipe at Cerberus' left flank. It howled and turned enough for one of its heads to reach him. Just as Jonathan had planned. He jumped high above Cerberus' heads and brought the Balmung down over its left neck. It fell to the ground and faded away. Before it had time to react, he slashed at the middle head's neck, effectively slitting its throat. No blood came from it, but it made choking noises and the middle head drooped downwards lifelessly.

The monster suddenly seemed to be absorbed back into the book.

"Oh right," Jonathan groaned, "I nearly forgot about that."

Once again, the book's pages flipped wildly, coming to a page showing an image of a bat. Like Cerberus, it stepped, or rather flew, out from the book's pages, taking on an ethereal appearance. But this was no ordinary bat; it was absolutely gigantic! For a bat at least — The average vampire bat generally wasn't the size of a full-grown human like this one.

It screeched and they were forced to cover their ears from the high-pitched noise. The giant bat proceeded to flap around the room madly at a speed that was surprising based on its size. Jonathan put Balmung away and took out his assassin's blade. He slashed at its wing and was shocked and somewhat disturbed when the bat seemed to shatter into a whole colony of bats. Wait a minute…

"Charlotte! Chain Lightning! Now!" he shouted.

Charlotte obeyed, lightning flew everywhere, and seconds later the few surviving bats were absorbed back into the book.

Once again, it started flipping its pages, opening to an image of a tall, gangly and featureless humanoid figure, which leaped out of the book's pages. It turned its blank face in Maria's direction, and before any of them could blink, they were looking at Maria's reflection. Except that the doppelganger seemed to have gotten something wrong: Maria wasn't actually wearing the gold ribbon that was tied around the doppelganger's midsection, nor was she carrying the doppelganger's rather elegant staff.

The look-alike swung its staff at its real counterpart, who sent her doves at it to attack. It recoiled as the birds flew up to its face and obscured its vision.

Charlotte took her opportunity to send a bolt of 'Chain Lightning' at the doppelganger. The metal staff it was carrying acted like a lightning rod and sent electricity coursing through its ethereal body. The doppelganger screamed in a voice just like Maria's and dropped its staff. Moments later it was absorbed back into the book, curiously leaving the staff and the ribbon from its midsection behind. The book flew back a few paces from them.

"Okay, I think it's safe to say that if we don't take care of the book, we'll never see an end to these monsters," Charlotte observed.

"On it!" Jonathan shouted, not even needing to be given an order. Re-equipping his Darkfire whip, he jumped and took a swing at the book, which deftly maneuvered out of the way. He took another couple swipes, each of which were avoided, and slowed down a moment.

"I have an idea," Charlotte ran up to him, "Did you notice that it stops moving in order to summon those monsters?"

"No, why?"

"Nothing," Charlotte rolled her eyes. "…Clueless," she muttered under her breath.

The book began to turn its pages again. They flipped a bit more slowly this time, as if it were trying to decide on something. Charlotte tried to take the opportunity to cast a spell the loose sheets that remained of her spellbook were too clumsy to find an appropriate spell in time and she missed her opportunity. The pages stopped turning and Charlotte found herself staring into the blinking eyes of a red dragon appeared on its open pages. A single, giant, clawed hand reached out of the book's pages, followed by another. There was an ear-shattering roar as the dragon's long neck emerged from the book's pages and moments later, the rest of its body emerged. It reared up and shattered the roof of the room, revealing the night sky. It didn't look ethereal at all. '_This must be the book's ultimate defense_,' she reasoned.

A huge jet of fire burst from the dragon's mouth and Charlotte was forced to dive for cover.

"You still have your 'Ice Needles' spell right?" Jonathan called in her direction, "See if that works. It did with the last one!"

Charlotte curled one of her hands into a fist, took a deep breath and found 'Ice Needles' in the remaining pages of her spellbook. Moments later, five lances made of ice were rotating in front of her. They shot upwards towards the dragon's neck. One by one they hit their target, doing no noticeable damage. Charlotte gaped.

Jonathan grit his teeth and ran towards the dragon, simultaneously prepping his crossbow.

"Jonathan, wait a second!" Maria cried. He skidded to a halt.

"What? We don't have a lot of time here!"

"I know! But don't you remember what Alucard said about your sword? He said that the Balmung was similar to his Ascalon! They didn't look anything like one another, but maybe it really is a dragon-slaying sword!"

"Don't kid yourself! We only called it Dragon Slayer because it was big and we couldn't think of a better name!" he looked up just in time to see the dragon's claws coming down on him. He slid out of the way just in time.

"But what if he was right? You'd be able to bring that thing down easily!"

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a shot…what am I saying, of course it'll hurt! Well, what do you think Char?"

"I think you should go for it!" She yelped as a blast of fire came towards her from the dragon's mouth.

"Okay then," Jonathan said uneasily, "here goes nothing." He hefted the Balmung up and dashed towards the fire-breathing menace. He was swiped away as he got too close. He took a different approach. Circling behind it, he tried to jump onto its tail. He realized his mistake when he was swatted and found himself staring at the dragon from a two foot deep indentation in the wall he'd made upon impact. "Charlotte! Toss me a potion!"

"Can do!"

She dug a potion out of her bag and ran it over to him. She climbed into the hole in the wall.

"This is a bit awkward," he muttered as sweat started rolling down his brow for a reason other than the extreme exertion he was putting himself through.

"Well, when I heard you calling and not getting out, I figured you couldn't move."

"Fine, but don't you dare try feeding that to me. I can move my arms. He snatched the bottle out of her hands and downed it in ten seconds.

"Okay, I'm back in action, now get off of me. And hurry because that dragon's looking at us the same way I look at an uncooked hamburger."

Charlotte hopped out of Jonathan's part of the wall.

"Face it! You can't cook anything that doesn't require a grill!"

"Don't we have bigger problems right now?" Jonathan pushed himself out of the wall just as a jet of fire shot from the dragon's mouth and turned the dented section of wall into a kiln. The fire stopped and it looked inside the dent in the wall. It was surprised to find that there was no charbroiled meal waiting for it inside. It was ever more surprised when it felt something crawling up its left arm.

Jonathan finally made it onto the red monster's back. Unfortunately, the dragon was now staring at the bite-sized morsel on its back and was probably thinking of how to season it. The dragon spread its wings and roared before leaping into the air spectacularly. Jonathan found himself being shaken loose as the dragon did a few clumsy but effective maneuvers in the air as it tried to dislodge him. One such maneuver involved bucking itself up straight in the air. That motion sent Jonathan flying into the side of one of the towers. He dug his sword into the stonework to slow his fall, and pulled it out as he came to a halt on a lookout tower that overlooked the side of the castle. The dragon shot a burst of fire at him and he ducked behind a turret. The dragon descended to look him in the eye. This little snack was proving to be far too much trouble to just be eaten. However, as it looked at him, Jonathan leaped into the air Balmung held high and plunged it deep into the dragon's head. Like all the other creatures, it didn't bleed, but it still roared in pain before it fell to the ground, dead. Slowly it vanished back into the book from whence it came. The book in question wasn't quite as lively as it had been earlier either. As the dragon finished fading, Jonathan realized that he was literally standing on nothing and fell the remaining four-and-a-half feet to the ground before landing in an uncomfortable heap. The book snapped shut and slowly floated towards Charlotte. It then dropped into her hands. It reopened itself to the blank first page. Words appeared on the page as though they were being written at that moment.

'_You have proven yourself worthy._

'_You may use me as you see fit.'_

Charlotte gaped.

"Well, we certainly paid for this. Not much of a gift."

Death's voice came in a rumble that the three companions could feel in their bones:

"I have given you the privilege of keeping this powerful artifact until the end of your days. You did well to conquer its test, but do not tempt me to go back on my word."

"Well, I guess I'll see how powerful this book really is in due time. But I'm still hesitant to thank you based on previous experience."

"Very well," Death said, a hint of intrigue present in his hollow voice, "If you would like to test it… then test it you shall!" He raised his arms above his head, and several monsters appeared on their vicinity: A demon, a pair of minotaurs, three white dragons and a humanoid bird with electric blue feathers.

Charlotte began by casting Night Terror towards the minotaurs. As the broken orb of madness and terror collided with the two bull-headed creatures, they collapsed to the ground howling out of utter horror of some phantasmal entity that they no doubt saw. They twitched on the floor for a few moments before dying. She spun around on her heel as she thought she heard something approaching her, but—

"Surprise!" The demon cackled inches away from her face before swiping its claws across her upper body. She thanked heaven for the effectiveness of her armor.

She opened the Book to a new page:

"_Spirit of Light!"_

A pair of pure souls formed in the air behind her and targeted the nearest being in the room with the most powerful aura of darkness: The demon. The spirits didn't kill the demon, but the damage was already done; it was clutching the raw and blistered flesh that had been hit by the light spirits. It lunged at Charlotte with a roar, only to be blasted by a Piercing Beam spell. The demon was engulfed by the searing light and the onlooking parties watched as its silhouette seemed to disintigrate from the outside in. When the ray of light vanished, all that remained of the demon were a few charred scraps of flesh and some ashes.

"Three down, four to go," Charlotte glared at the unfamiliar monster flapping its electric-blue wings in front of her.

"What _is_ that thing anyway?" she muttered. Her question was answered moments later as the Book of Binding flipped away from the page containing Spirit of Light and re-opened to a blank page. Ink began to swirl along the pages and an image reminiscent of a bestiary page formed on the page.

On one side was a profile and on the other side was a picture of the avian creature before her.

"'Rycuda…'" She mumbled.

'_Rycudas are thunder spirits from an ancient culture.'_ She read,_ 'While they are highly intelligent, they are quite aggressive and can pose a threat to those who encounter it unless a pact has been made beforehand. It is easily subdued by strong winds.'_

"And I don't have Gale Force or Tornado anymore. Terrific."

She decided to just take the rycuda down the old fashioned way: The same way she got rid of Jonathan when he was bothering her: By dropping a book on its head. She pulled her encyclopedia out of her bag and delivered a strong whack to the electric bird's head. It squawked and collapsed. A blue light erupted from its body and was sucked into the book. It flipped open to the page of Chain Lightning. In the bottom left corner of the page, the words "The Second Power" were now written. She decided to try casting it on the white dragons. Though it wasn't too different it seemed as though the lighting bolts were larger and there was a heavier electrical hum as the lighting shot from the book than there usually was. As the Chain Lightning hit each of the white dragons they went into convulsions and clattered to the floor in pieces. Red light arose from the remains of all three monsters in a similar manner to what had happened with the rycuda. The red lights entered the book's pages and they flipped to the spell 'Raging Fire.' In the bottom left corner were the words "The Fourth Power."

Although there were no more monsters left, she decided to cast it just for kicks to see what happened.

"_Raging Fire!_"

The result was flashy to say the least. The flames that the spell produced were significantly larger and hotter than usual. Charlotte grinned ecstatically.

"You know, it may have tried to kill us, but this book is really growing on me."

Death reappeared in the room.

"I figured it would. You're the most avid reader on this side of the world, and I decided that it would be worth trying again."

"Huh? Trying what again?"

"The first person I offered the Book of Binding to died due to exhaustion after trying to fight the book without damaging it. The second person was impaled by the book's 'Thousand Needles' spell. And the book actually devoured the soul of the third person. I figured that whether you died or not, I would still win. There was nothing for me to lose by offering the book to you. I'm impressed, if not somewhat surprised, that it has actually chosen you as its bearer."

"So this really _was_ just another scheme to kill us?" Charlotte asked Death, fuming.

"Not entirely," the Reaper cackled that hollow laugh of shaking bones and vanished before any of them could attack.

"Well, that was an adventure all on its own," Jonathan muttered, "I know you probably want to rant to me about how inconsiderate Death is, Charlotte, but can you do that while we walk back to the library entrance. Stella and Loretta can't be left unsupervised for too long. They'll end up telling us crazy stories about locust demons that we've already killed."

"You're probably right," Charlotte agreed.

"Still, that was a pretty nasty thing even for Death to do," Maria piped up. She almost said it knowingly.

"Oh my _God!_" Charlotte gasped, "I _know!_ What is his _problem?_"

"Actually, I don't know…I don't even know what to compare it with. Ever since I walked into this castle, it's like I'm remembering things that…aren't really my own memories. And that's not to mention the fact that the doppelganger turned into someone who _looked_ like me, but wasn't _really_ me."

"Huh?" Jonathan mused, "Does any of that even make sense?"

"I'm asking Alucard about it when we get back," Maria muttered, "Something tells me that he knows more than he's letting on."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Armory:<strong>_

**Charlotte's Weapons:**

**The Book of Binding** –_ A tome of terrible power that absorbs the abilities that certain monsters use. For more details, see its page on the Castlevania Wiki._


	10. Chapter X: Who are you, Alucard?

**Chapter X**

"**Who are you, Alucard? And…who am I?"**

* * *

><p>"Alucard!" Maria shouted as they got back to the Library's entrance, "I want you to tell me—huh?"<p>

Alucard wasn't where he was supposed to be, nor were the Lecarde sisters.

"Not good," Jonathan groaned, "Okay, we're all going to go looking for them together."

"Wouldn't we be more likely to find them by splitting up and meeting up back here in a few minutes?" Maria asked.

"Haven't you ever seen one of those new horror movies? This a haunted castle, and the same rules apply here. We all know _exactly_ what happens when the characters say 'Let's split up.'"

"Those are the laws of screenplay writing and not of reality, Jonathan," Charlotte shook her head slowly in exasperation, "While I agree it's better that we stay together, the reason for doing so is so that we don't lose track of one another, not because we're all gonna die if we break ranks."

Jonathan scratched the back of his head and laughed in embarrassment.

That was when Stella burst through the doors on the room's balcony.

"Thank heavens you're back! You have to help out! Alucard's tough, Loretta's a total ice queen in terms of magic, and I'm more tenacious than that giant squid from _20,000 Leagues Under The Sea_, but if we don't get backup right now, we're all dead! Don't ask questions, just follow me!"

Charlotte and Maria exchanged glances and Jonathan shrugged, but they still went with Stella as she ran off the way she came.

They found themselves in a room that looked to be central chamber of the library, with bookshelves covering the walls of five whole floors. And ornate double doorway with expertly crafted engravings on them stood at the lowest level. Jonathan, Charlotte and Maria were on the third floor looking down at a scene of utter chaos while Stella wasn't wasting time getting back into the fray. Alucard was slashing at archdemons with his Alucard Sword like a madman, his precise movements nothing less than a blur. Loretta was bringing up the rear by casting a wall of ice between themselves and what looked to be a hoard of countless blood skeletons, a sight that made Maria cringe. Medusa heads were pouring from the walls and wights were rising from pools of blood on the floor as though they were regular zombies. Other monsters were appearing at random, although there weren't any creatures that could potentially start fires.

Stella, not patient enough to take the stairs, just vaulted off the balcony, tearing Burtgang and Kaldbolg from their sheaths and landing on the back of an archdemon simultaneously driving both swords deep into its body. There was an awful crunching noise as Kaldbolg bisected its spine. Stella didn't miss a beat. Jumping off the back of the quickly dying demon she spun in midair, swords outstretched. Burtgang and Kaladbolg severed the wings off of a pair of demons with gruesome efficiency and she followed up by plunging both swords through the backs of the creatures' necks. Moving on, she dashed towards a horde of wights and took out a cluster of them in seconds with her light-footed dance of death.

Alucard had his hands full as he was assaulted by seven archdemons. There was a noise akin to water being displaced as at least twenty amalaric snipers came into existence, followed closely by six malphas. There was a crash as two heavy armors powerhoused their way through Loretta's wall of ice allowing the unkillable blood skeletons through. A few buster armors peered over the ledges of the upper floors and fired their explosive projectiles downward randomly, hitting friend and foe alike. Alucard sheathed his personal weapon and hefted up Ascalon, using its broad blade to deflect some of the explosions and jumping into the air, taking out four snipers with a wide swing. Fortunately, when he deflected the next explosive, it flew into an area with a lot of snipers. Twelve burned to death moments later leaving six left in total.

"Seems almost a shame. Only a few had fired so much as a single arrow."

He returned the Ascalon to its place on his back and drew his Alucard Sword again. After a flurry of lightning quick strikes, three of the seven offending archdemons would find that they needed to be reintroduced to various internal organs. The other four were dealt with as Loretta cast _Icicle Drop_. The fact remained that there were now the blood skeletons to deal with.

"There are way too many of them! Even for us all to handle!" Charlotte exclaimed, "And I can't even do anything!"

"Wait, why not?" Maria asked.

"I can't cast any of my offensive magic because all of my current spells would damage the books!"

"Uh oh…" Jonathan said, noticing the malphas demons.

Maria on the other hand decided to take matters into her own hands. She sent out her doves and gave them an order to attack all of the armored foes. The buster armors were pierced over and over by the doves and proceeded to explode one after another. The heavy armors were only a bit luckier: The spectral doves dealt a lot of damage to them but at the last moment, the doves disappeared, incapacitated by an entire flock of demonic ravens. Deciding to let her doves rest, Maria decided to try and get some answers out of Alucard.

Moments before it happened, she tried to warn him but they were already too close. She never got the chance to ask him anything before he was swarmed by a wave of medusa heads. Once the heads had begun to clear out she made a move to run towards him to check if he was alright. However, what she saw standing in his place was not Alucard at all. After all, Alucard wasn't a demon! He was a cute guy, who had a few odd mannerisms but still had a comforting presence. Once again she didn't know why she felt this way. She tried to blink the image away, but when she reopened her eyes, what she saw standing where Alucard had stood was still a giant demonic gargoyle. Its eyes glowed red and it began to shake, breaking free of its stone prison moments later. Maria screamed. With a roar, the demon leaped into the air and charged through archdemons, amalaric snipers, and even malphas. All it needed to do was swipe the monsters with its claws and the strike would be lethal. In came crashing to ground level and reared back, unleashing a wave of raw power that vaporized all of the blood skeletons as well as the damaged heavy armors, and sent Maria, Stella and Loretta flying into the bookshelves lining the walls. Maria felt a moment of relief as she noticed that there were no other monsters left, but then she saw the demon walking toward her, and her life began flashing before her eyes as it lifted a clawed hand. Her life was going to end here; she knew it. But before it made contact with her, the hand stopped in mid-slash. It roared again, but it almost seemed like its voice was cracking if that was possible. It clutched its head and staggered backwards, growling as if in pain, and with one final howl it began to change. She truly felt astonished to find that Alucard was once again standing where the demon had stood.

"Alucard?" Maria asked reaching out to him.

"…Maria…I'm sorry."

Maria stood in stunned silence.

"I know…you would not want to have anything to do with a monster such as myself."

"No, that's not it. I…I think that's the first time you actually called me Maria. I promise I won't run away, but…who are you really?"

Stella jumped, seeming to come to a sudden realization.

"I know where I've heard your name before!" She cried out, "I don't know why, but you must have been named after our father's spear. I remember now. He told us that it was called the Alucard Spear."

"You are a Lecarde?" Alucard seemed surprised, "In any case, you're assumption is incorrect."

"Alucard, my question? You're not get—"

"The answer to your question happily coincides with what I am about to tell Stella. I was not _named_ after the spear. I was the one who _forged_ the spear for Eric Lecarde."

"But that's impossible!" Stella shouted, "Father said that he got his spear when he was still a teenager! You don't look a day over twenty; you couldn't have given it to him!"

"Is that so?" Alucard said sullenly, "I suppose you think that my transformation into a demon was a coincidence as well?"

"That I don't know but still—"

"My cursed blood has never reacted well to contact with petrification magic. Sometimes it overreacts to being turned to stone."

"What do you mean by 'cursed blood?'" Maria asked nervously.

"If you wouldn't mind telling me what the year is?"

"It's 1947," answered Charlotte uncertainly, "Why?"

I apologize. I have not been honest with any of you. The truth is that I am over five hundred years of age."

"How is that even possible?" Jonathan wondered out loud, "Unless," his eyes narrowed and he dug the Vampire Killer back out of his backpack.

"You can put that away. While I have fought on the same side as that whip on more than one occasion, I assure you it can do significant and lasting damage to me in a variety of scales. I do not intend to harm any of you. I have already told you, I oppose Dracula. I have even defeated him before. But he is also…let me explain this more clearly. My mother's name was Lisa Fahrenheits, but she died over five hundred years ago. Burned at the stake under the accusation of being a witch. She had cured everyone in our village of a choleric plague. And because she knew how to cure it, the other townsfolk decided that she must have been the cause of it. Even as she was being burned alive, her kindness never wavered. She insisted that I not blame humans for the cruelty displayed by the people whose lives she had saved. Because she believed that even though men are capable of these terrible deeds, they are also able to do great and wonderful things. She told me also to pass that message on to my father who lived in a castle a few hours away from the town, and her final words were that she would love him for all eternity."

Stella, Loretta and Maria were all rubbing stray tears from their eyes, and Jonathan was rubbing the back of his neck trying to think of something to say.

Charlotte on the other hand was looking at Alucard suspiciously.

"You said that you're over five hundred years old, the Vampire Killer could hurt you significantly? Why is that exactly? And why did your mother tell you not to hate humans? That in particular sounds almost as though you aren't human at all, if you don't count the unnaturally long lifespan. So I don't think the situation is as much a 'who are you' question as it is a 'what are you' question."

"I will be honest with you: I am a dhampir; the cursed spawn formed from the union of a human and a vampire. My mother's name was Lisa. While you were reading your history of the Belmont family, there was a woman whose name was the full form of that name. Who was she?

Charlotte hesitated, before she realized what Alucard was implying.

"Your mother…was she the reincarnation of Elizabetha Cronqvist?"

"That is more than likely."

"So wait, are you implying that—"

"My father was Count Vlad Tepes of Walachia also known as Count Dracula. You are correct, Charlotte. You're deductive reasoning is astonishingly highly developed for one as young as nineteen years old. In any case, I'm sure that you want me gone. I'm far too dangerous to be awake. While it may have been better if I had not met you, it has been nice getting to know all of you, even if only for a short period of time. We will not meet again." As he said this, his melancholy voice seemed to grow more somber than usual.

"Wait! I still have another question for you!" Maria shouted, but Alucard had already transformed into a bat and was flying out the window.

Maria knew that she couldn't let him go back to sleep. She needed to know who the other Maria was. And he knew, she was sure of it. She was up the stairs and out the doors of the central chambers of the library in a heartbeat.

Memories that weren't hers flooded her mind. Being kidnapped by a creepy wizard in purple robes, and shortly thereafter being rescued by her sister's boyfriend Richter. Suddenly realizing that she could summon animal familiars in the blink of an eye. Saving Annette and the other maidens being used as sacrifices. Fighting alongside Richter up until his showdown with Dracula. Meeting a stranger in that creepy castle that had changed since she been there, and learning his name: Alucard. Fighting him to check whether he could subdue Richter and knock some sense into her soon-to-be brother-in-law. Nearly losing him to his sleep. Convincing him to live with her, Annette and Richter. Him saying that he was not a very good conversationalist and summoning an imp to talk for him (a plan that ultimately backfired when it proved to be cheeky). That same imp insulting her cooking and her own abduction by an incubus calling himself Magnus as she came home from the town market. Magnus showing her images of Alucard drinking blood. Alucard (the real Alucard) admitting that he once drank blood but that he refused to become that kind of monster ever again, and subsequently killing Magnus with the aid and tragic sacrifice of a childhood friend who had since become a vampire. As she ran through the marble corridors, following the crystalline dust that led out of the maze, she saw birthdays she'd never had, met friends that she had never known, go to places she had never been to. She watched her other self as she grew older, but always able to look at Alucard who never aged a day, and feeling like everything was stable. She felt tears in her eyes as she remembered her sister's death and Richter's subsequent depression, at that point an old man.

She tore her way through the entrance hall, not even caring about the zombies trying to attack her and burst out the front doors of the castle. She ignored Oliver completely as he tried to ask what she was so worked up about. She found the place where they had all parked the car and headed into the woods in the opposite direction of the castle.

"Alucard! Alucard where are you!" She didn't even need to ask him who she was anymore. She just needed to know who she was to _him_.

She considered herself lucky when she stumbled upon the cave. Running inside, it took on the appearance of a tomb, and that was where she found him. And he was doing something that she might have found funny if not for the seriousness of the situation: He was stepping into a coffin.

"Adrian, wait!"

Alucard froze. Maria clapped her hands over her mouth.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get your name wrong! It just came to mind for some reason. I've never actually known anyone named Adrian before. I don't know why I called you that."

Then she realized that yes, in fact, she did.

"How did you know my real name?"

"I…I think…I remember. But what did Death mean when he said that he would have to find out if his theory was correct? Am I…?"

"I believe it might mean that he believes you to be the reincarnation of Maria Renard. You look and sound almost exactly like her and you even seem to be developing the same powers that she possessed. You have also been telling me that you instinctively knew things that you have never learned."

"I practically relived her entire life while chasing you. Who was she? I want–I _need_ to know more!"

"My apologies, but you will have to find someone else. I'm afraid that I never met—"

Maria stepped into the coffin and angrily shoved Alucard out, making him land flat on his back. Stepping out again she dug one of her heels into his ribcage, not really caring about the fact that he probably wouldn't feel it through his breastplate. "You're a liar! I saw you there in the majority of her memories!"

"It may have been someone who looked like me," he tried to hide the fact that he was sweating and failed.

"No it wasn't, and you're going to tell me exactly who she was right now!"

Alucard tensed, then stood up and tried to walk away.

"Adrian…please?"

That stopped him in his tracks.

"Maria was…a good friend. She was already a talented witch when I met her; able to perform a kind of summoning magic I had never even heard of. She helped put an end to Dracula on two separate occasions: Once at the side of a Belmont when she was only twelve years old, and again when she was eighteen and working on her own. That was when I met her. She convinced me to live with her and her sister and that was where I stayed. Even for a while after she had died I stayed in that house to take care of her brother-in-law, the Belmont she had fought alongside with. After he died I went back to my tomb here and fell asleep again."

"She loved you. You know that right?"

Alucard nodded his head once but couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"I think I'm actually falling for you too you know."

At this Alucard only seemed to grow even tenser, "I will not…dishonor…her memory!" he choked out. He was breathing heavily and he was paler than usual.

"Are you alright? I guess that I might be pulling up a lot of painful memories for you. I'm sorry. But still, I'd like to get to know you better. I don't want to just go by someone else's memories. I won't ask you for very much, but could you at least continue with our group?"

"I'm sorry, but… I cannot do that."

Maria's eyes dimmed in annoyance. She recalled having done something to Richter to get him to let her come along with him. Maybe she could get it to work in reverse.

"_I summon thee, Dragon of the Zodiac!_"

Alucard's eyes widened as a huge serpent burst forth from a glowing Chinese symbol that appeared in the air above Maria. It flew around the cavernous tomb a few times before coming up behind the dhampir and giving him a forceful nudge strong enough to make him stagger forward, but not send him flying.

"Oh yes you can, Alucard! Now march!"

* * *

><p>"Do you think she found him?" Loretta asked her sister.<p>

"Don't ask me. I'm not omnipresent."

"There's no need to be sarcastic, Stella."

Charlotte pulled a book entitled _Demons: How to Negotiate With Them Without Losing Your Soul_ off a shelf and began flipping through it.

With the sound of thousands of cackling ravens at least seventy more malphas spawned in the room in he room with them. Charlotte replaced the book with a look of disappointed irritation and maybe even a hint of fear.

There was no way to overcome this onslaught.

With a shriek and a roar, a huge bat burst through one of the windows followed by what could only be Shenlong incarnate. Jonathan got the Balmung out for another round and Charlotte opened the Book of Binding up to its buffed Chain Lightning spell…until the bat began shooting volleys of fire at the malphas while the dragon tore through multiple demons as it flew through the chamber. The four grounded companions stared up at the carnage occurring above them when they noticed a pair white birds circling the dragon's head diving at anything that came too close, not able to incapacitate any of the crow demons, but enough to push them away.

The great bat was shooting fireballs hitting malphas with pinpoint accuracy. Charlotte was growing nervous about the books catching fire but even when an accident seemed inevitable the dragon would block the (admittedly very few) stray fires with its sinewy coils before they could hit so much as a page on the shelves. One of malphas tried to set its spectral crows on the dragon only for them to be swallowed like potato chips before the bat came up behind it and burned through its torso. Though the remaining malphas seemed to be growing nervous, none of them seemed to be ready to back down.

The shrieking cries of a thousand demonic crows sounded as the malphas were either torn to shreds by the Chinese dragon or burned to a crisp by the bat's fireballs.

This rampage continued until there were about twenty remaining demons. The dragon was about to make another turn when it seemed to shimmer out of existence, leaving its rider to fall five stories to the floor. Moments before she landed she was caught by the bat and lowered gently to the floor. The bat flapped its way up a few feet before it drew its wings around itself and landed on the floor, a human figure with its cape drawn around itself.

Shouts of "Maria!" and "Alucard!" came from all around. They had suspected that it was the two of them from the moment the two creatures had begun helping them out, but the two figures on the floor confirmed their expectations.

Above them, the malphas had noticed that they no longer had a giant dragon to deal with, and were preparing to renew their assault. Several prepared to dive at their targets while others made to send waves of ravens at the group. None of them ever got the chance as a horrific shriek of rage filled the room.

One by one, the malphas began screaming. Nothing visible seemed to be happening to them, but then Loretta saw one of the malphas' bodies changing in a sickening way. She pointed at the particular creature to get the rest of the group's attention: They all recoiled in disgust as the crow demon seemed mutilate, its feathers losing their ebon color and falling off revealing ash grey skin that withered and grew more wrinkled and disfigured as they watched.

**Useless vermin! Even if a horde of assorted monsters can't dispose of them, shouldn't an army of organized, thinking, intelligent archdemons at least be able to disable them! You shall spend all of eternity in bloodless agony for your pathetic failure; unable to move, unable to scream, unable even to die!**

There was a familiar cackle as the vampire they had met back in Ithaca had materialized in front of them, a look of cruel satisfaction written on her almost purple features.

"Well done, mortal pests. I might even congratulate you if you weren't human scum. I would advise you to stop snooping around my master's castle. You never know what you'll find, and I assure you, I've left all sorts of…interesting surprises for you," she cackled again.

"If it isn't the home wrecker lady," Jonathan drawled. "You know, I almost had second thoughts about killing you seeing as you happen to be a helluva thorn in Death's side, but whenever I find myself thinking that, I just remember how much money it'll cost me to get our front porch fixed."

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Stella gasped, appalled, "You sent all those monsters to try and fight us just to slow us down and then when the heavy duty attack dogs don't work quite fast enough for you, you just put them down? And like that? You are _disgusting_! _And _you waste resources better than campaigning politicians!"

Charlotte nodded, expressing her approval of Stella's analogy.

"You pathetic cockroaches!" Camilla shrieked. She drew back her scythe and swooped towards Stella. Not being particularly focused due to her rage, she ran herself through on one of Stella's swords as the swordmistress ducked beneath the scythe's otherwise deadly arc.

Stella stood up again and shook the vampire off of her sword, letting her drop feebly to the floor.

"Aww, does 'widdle Camilla have a temper?" Stella mocked her in a babying voice.

"Whore! I'll see to it that you don't live to see another sunrise!" Clutching her wound in one hand and her scythe in the other. She stepped back a few paces and faded into the darkness.

"Was that really necessary, Stella?" Jonathan asked, "She could have taken our heads off with that swing. If we had died it would have been your fault."

"Well then, as you might say, there's no problem here 'cause nobody actually got hurt anyway," Stella replied haughtily.

A pair of ornate double doors on the floor below them opened and a _very_ old man walked out.

"What has been all of this racket!" he shouted hoarsely, "I can barely concentrate on my work! I told the monsters in the library to keep it down four hundred years ago and they're already being disobedient. Young creatures these days…"

In a very uncharacteristic move, Alucard actually smiled.

"Good to see you sir. I see you've not changed at all in all these years."

"Ah! Young master Tepes, my good pupil! What brings you back here after such aan extended period of absence?"

"That would be Master _Fahrenheits_ Tepes to you, but I will not forget my manners in front of you, teacher."

"So…how has your father been…I've not heard from him in ages. You'd think he'd visit an old man now and again seeing as we live in the same castle…"

There was a moment in which nobody could think of anything to say. Except for one of them:

"You have no idea what's going on in the rest of the castle do you?"

Jonathan's comment was met with scowls from everyone else.

"Everyone's _thinking_ it, I'm just _saying_ it!"

The glares persisted.

**Author's Note: So, how was that one? I'm very worried about Maria's 'epiphany' scene. Was it alright? I'm worried that it might feel a little rushed, or maybe just too…standard. I had wanted to work in Alucard's easter egg gargoyle form somewhere. I think I went a bit overboard with it seeing as it sent Alucard running a bit early. Also, was the banter between Maria and Alucard okay? I'm always worried that I'm getting them wrong. If you didn't like anything about it please let me know.**


	11. Chapter XI: The Ruined Gallery

**Chapter XI**

**The Ruined Gallery**

* * *

><p>Alucard looked the Librarian over. He looked exactly the same as he remembered. And while it was nice to see his old mentor again, it was important to get right to the point.<p>

"Truth be told, we came to see you for a specific purpose," he said with purpose, "Miss Aulin, if you would?"

Charlotte approached the librarian shyly. "I'm here to take this," she said quietly, holding up the Book of Binding. The moment he saw it, the Ancient Librarian's eyes grew wide with righteous indignation.

"Young lady! Do you have any idea what book that is? How powerful and dangerous it is? Even its value?"

"All of those things. It tried to kill us before we were able to take it."

"And yet you still expect me to simply let you walk out with it?"

"No!" Charlotte defended herself, "I'm completely ready to pay."

"Is that so?" the Librarian eyed her skeptically from behind his half-moon eyeglasses.

"Yes. This should cover it, right?" she dug the coin Death had given her earlier out of her pocket. She vaguely noticed that it had changed: There was now an embossed image of Death's visage on the face of the coin.

Once again the Librarian was flabbergasted.

"That–! That's—" he stuttered, "That is a Reaper's Token!"

"Is that so?" mused Alucard, "I've never seen one before. I hear that they are particularly valuable in the spirit world."

"Valuable? This one coin could buy a small castle on the other side! I could build an entire new wing for this library! Pass me the coin and the Book is yours!"

Charlotte handed the token over to the Ancient Librarian, who picked it up reverently.

"You can be on your way now, I have much planning to do," he chattered excitedly, walking back into his office, "Notes to write…blueprints to make…a whole wing! Who should I contact?…"

Charlotte looked at the old man worriedly, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I would not worry yourself about him. I have seen him like this many times," Alucard said calmly, "He is very passionate about his work. All of his personal projects are worked on with fervor. He has been this way for as long as I can remember."

"Talk about dedicated to one's job…I guess," Maria said cheerfully.

"Well. The Book's mine now…" Charlotte said quietly. She suddenly couldn't contain herself anymore. She laughed and began hopping up and down in a small circle, hugging the Book tightly. "It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Oh my gosh! It's mine!…" this continued for a few minutes. Finally she took a few deep breaths and managed to calm down.

"Sorry you had to see that…" she mumbled ashamedly.

"No, no, it's fine," Jonathan smirked, "We all have our moments. I get like this around Swedish buffets."

"Swedish food makes you do _that?_" Maria asked, edging away from him.

"Who said anything about Swedish _food_?" Jonathan asked seeming completely out of the loop.

"Oh, nobody! I don't think we want to know what you're talking about," Stella said quickly before taking her sister's hand and practically dragged her up the stairs.

The fifth floor of the library's central chamber was decorated by a number of paintings. A set of double doors stood on the other side of the room. As they made their way around, Charlotte looked at a few of the paintings. She found that she liked one that looked to be a take on Van Gogh's _Starry Night_. Except that instead of stars there were what appeared to be meteors, and in place of a city there was a small town in the middle of a forest. It was entitled:

_Meteor Shower_

She found herself curious to see what the next painting would be, but when she saw it she staggered back in revulsion. It was a portrait of none other than Legion. She hazarded a glance at what its title was:

_Legion – Self Portrait_

_He is many. He is one._

"Waitaminute! _Self_ portrait? How the hell—never mind. I don't even want to _think_ about the possibilities on that one."

Upon opening the doors, they were amazed by the sheer size of the room. It was a single gallery of paintings. Most of them looked unfinished, while others still seemed unfinished but seemed to have a ghostly outline of what the painting would have looked like once it was completed. One such painting was a portrait of none other than Stella, though the upper-left corner of her face was painted in ghostly paint. Next to it to the left was a painting of Loretta. The upper-left corner of the painting was also ethereal-looking.

"Huh. That's weird…" Stella commented, staring intensely at her own face, "Can't say it looks half bad though."

"I agree sister. You look rather glamorous in that picture."

"So what do you say guys? Hot, or not?" Stella asked.

"I'm just curious as to how such paintings came to be here," Charlotte muttered. She went off to look at one of the finished paintings. This one caught her attention in particular because from a distance she could have sworn that she recognized it. It only grew more eerily familiar as she got closer. An image of a red circus tent surrounded by several others, all colored brightly, on a disturbingly foreboding background. She looked at the plaque beneath the picture frame:

_Nation of Fools_

"What—What is this?" she stammered, "What are…are _his_ paintings doing here?"

"So, I see you've found me at last," said a deep, baleful voice. A ghostly figure materialized in front of the painting. It was a gangly human figure. It held a cane in its left hand, which had bizarrely long fingernails, as did the right. It was very well dressed, bald, and pale even for a ghost. Charlotte recognized him instantly.

"Brauner? Ah, how the mighty have fallen."

"No need to be rude. I can't hurt you after all."

"What are you even doing here? Why is all of your art in this gallery?

"Haven't you already guessed?" Brauner spread his arms dramatically, "_This_ is what remains of my castle. All that is left of my work is here in this room." For a fleeting moment his eyes wandered, and caught on something in particular. Or rather, some_one_: Two in fact.

"Stella! Loretta! My darlings!" he ran over towards his so-called daughters.

"Oh God. _This_ guy," Stella groaned.

"I admit, your work is splendid, but your personality doesn't match it in the slightest," Loretta shook her head.

"But my dears—"

"Let me make this simple. Ahem:" Stella cleared her throat and then stepped up to look Brauner in the eye, "_You! Are! Delusional!_ We are _not_ your daughters! Hate to break it to ya, but they died in the First World War, and reincarnation isn't a twenty years sorta thing, it's like a two hundred years sorta thing!" She was red in the face by this point and had her hands clawed at the sides of Brauner's head and was shaking them back and forth, "We are _not_ your little girls, and _you yourself killed our real dad right in front of us_ and then _bit_ us! _Am I getting through to you, you ectoplasmic bloodsucking bastard!_" She let her hands fall to her sides and slumped forwards, breathing heavily. She seemed like she was about to continue when Loretta grabbed her shoulder.

"Sister, that's enough! He's a poor old man, and vampire or not, he's dead and you have no right to treat him like that. I don't like him either, but you should at least stop before you give away our position to Alastor or Camilla."

By now, everyone was looking at the scene. Jonathan's eyes were the size of dinner plates, Charlotte was staring at them distastefully, Maria was doing her usual thing, edging away from them slowly and Alucard was just looking at them, an unimpressed, almost bored look in his eyes.

Stella let out a sigh. "All right, but don't let that make you think you're off the hook you slop artist."

Loretta could have sworn she saw a tear come to Brauner's eye at that comment, but his ethereal state made it difficult to be sure. She could however, be sure that he had choked.

"You're right. I was not a good father to my daughters. If I had been, they might still be alive today."

"No, that's not true. Many people died in that war. There was likely nothing that you could have done. I'm sorry, sir. We are not the reincarnations of your daughters. I'm sure they were lovely, but they are gone, and will likely never be coming back. Like us…they are likely to be of no consequence to history. After Stella and I are gone, our souls will move on to the next world, just as your daughters' have."

"All I wanted to do…was protect my family. Was that too much to ask?"

"No, it was a good thought. You simply went about doing it the wrong way."

"Thank you…Miss Lecarde. Stella, my dear, if you would just follow me, there is something that I would like you to have."

"I see where this is going. You can get it yourself. I don't feel like being cursed again."

"I swear on the tatters of my soul that no harm will come to you."

"Not good enough."

Brauner thought for a moment and looked at Jonathan, who was still looking confused.

"You there; boy. Jonathan was it? You had that whip made for killing vampires? You and your friend the girl, come along with the two of us. If I attempt to bring any harm to her, you may destroy me where I stand."

"Well," Stella grinned mischievously, "_that's_ a deal I'll just _have _to accept."

* * *

><p>Stella walked beside Jonathan who was next to Charlotte and then the ghost of Brauner. The two latter were having a discussion about his paintings.<p>

"So the _City of Haze_ was based on the town that you grew up in?"

"Yes, that's right. Though it was quite nice in the mornings and around noontime, it was almost always gloomy in the afternoons."

"I find it hard to imagine you as a child," Charlotte said uncomfortably, "I guess it was still worthy of note though. Personally, I found the _Dark Academy_ more interesting, although it wasn't exactly what I would have called my favorite one."

"I think I can see why an intellectual lady such as yourself would have found that particular piece interesting. May I ask which of my works you liked the most?"

"I didn't _like_ any of them per se. What I meant by favorite was the complexity of the work inside and out. Unlike, for instance, the _Sandy Grave_ and the _Forgotten City_: They were both stereotypical Egyptian pieces. They were both laid out like pyramids, and crawling with mummies."

"They were a joy to paint. I don't appreciate you calling my work stereotypical."

"What are you going to do about it? Bite me? Oh wait, you can't!"

"He can still hurt you in other ways, Charlotte," Jonathan warned, "Don't be rude."

Charlotte huffed indignantly and kept walking. "Frankly, I found the _Nation of Fools_ to be the most interesting. The way that its inhabitants were all gratuitous clowns letting their city fall into ruins around them as long as they were having fun kind of spoke to me. And the way it turned onto its side and eventually upside-down the further you went was actually kind of fascinating. That and the way that Jonathan and I were the only ones affected by the true laws of gravity had a kind of depth to it. Like we were the only real people in a world of pure degenerate chaos."

"That was actually my intention when painting it. It was the way I see the world. Inside out, and completely broken."

"Hmm."

"Swear to me, all of you, that you will do your best to fix this world. If destroying humanity is not an option, then the only other option is change humanity completely. It's much more difficult than my own method, but it is the only other way to bring about any kind of positive change."

"Well the Second World War is over. We're just hoping that war on that scale won't ever happen again."

"Hope is not good enough. Humanity is bent on destroying itself and its diversity! Look at the history of the Jewish people: First people hated them because of their religion. Then when that got old people hated them because of their race. Thanks to Hitler's concentration camps and genocidal hatred, I do not know what will become of them. Perhaps they will get their country back, but then I imagine that people will pin them as…human rights abusers for instance because racism is looked down upon now.

"Another example: Look at what the British did to the native people of America: they forcibly took away their religion, sent their children to schools where their names were taken away and were beaten for speaking their own language or calling themselves by their true names rather than the ones given to them by the church!

"And the Crusades! The European scoundrels made a big show of how they were going to take back the Holy Land in the name of God. If that were the true case, they could have occupied it after pillaging and killing everything in it, but no, they just left so that the Jews and Muslims could crawl back together and rebuild. So what could possibly be better than repeating the same brutal actions now that those inferior races had shed blood sweat and tears to rebuild their homes? Humanity is hopeless. It deserves to be destroyed."

The three companions were utterly stunned. He had a point. Even so…was humanity really beyond saving? There was silence for a time until they came upon a small alcove in the enormous gallery. And struck into the floor there was something that Stella hadn't seen in years:

"That's father's spear!"

"Your father died at my hand. That spear belongs to you now. No one else has any right even to touch it. Use it well, but if you do not bring about any positive change to this world, I will regret giving this to you."

Stella picked up the blue and silver spear trimmed with gold and spun it.

"Not exactly my kind of weapon, but…I do appreciate the chance to honor father's memory."

Jonathan gave her a nudge in the ribs.

"Ow. Okay!" she paused for a moment and took a deep breath, "Thank you…Brauner."

Brauner didn't say anything; he just gradually faded away until he simply was no longer there.

"That was a surprise," Jonathan chuckled.

"No kidding? That _doesn't_ happen to people on a daily basis?" Stella grunted sarcastically.

"Well I wasn't expecting him to help us, that's all."

"Really? I would have never guessed."

"Cut that out before you start fighting," Charlotte sighed, "Let's just get back to the rest of the group."

* * *

><p>There was a rush of darkness than nearly swept Maria and Loretta off their feet. Alucard was able to hold his ground but he had years of experience dealing with sudden entrances.<p>

**Where's that girl!** A distorted voice came from within the darkness before an extremely angry Camilla burst out of the shadows, taking up a low fighting stance, scythe held behind her dramatically. Alucard decided to make the first move. He dashed up to her and unleashed a flurry of lightning quick slashes at her. She managed to block the first strike with her scythe, but the rest of his attacks hit home, leaving several gashes on various parts of her body. Resigned to taking more damage if she continued trying to defend she just pulled her scythe back and swung it in a wide diagonal arc, forcing Alucard to leap backwards to avoid being sliced in half.

The vampiress looked around wildly, an almost primal fury in her eyes.

"Where is she!" Camilla growled, "Well if she's not here, I'll just relish the despair in her eyes when she finds her sister's mutilated corpse!" She raised her scythe in the air and cackled. "Would you like to meet my new friend? Do not mistake it for a regular cave troll; this beast is the source of _all_ of those lesser creatures! So much as a scratch from it will turn you into a carnivorous nocturnal beast within twelve hours! That is, if your even still alive by then. Kyaha_hahaha_ha!"

"Thank heavens Charlotte still has _Sanctuary_ then," Loretta muttered.

"What's that, dear? Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter seeing as you'll be dead momentarily!" As she said this, a creature that looked something like a cave troll jumped out of a magic seal on the floor, but there were some noticeable differences: It was noticeably larger, covered in spikes, and seemed to be rather furry. Unlike a cave troll's scaly and slimy orange skin, its fur was black and brown. Its head was also different. Unlike the bizarre, almost human face of a cave troll, this thing's face resembled a cross between a hyena and a vampire bat. Its sharp tongue lolled out of the left side of its mouth and it flexed its razor sharp claws, and growled. It was more of a hiss than a growl actually.

"Hlehhhh!"

"Meet my Chupacabra. Isn't he lovely? Say hello, darling."

The Chupacabra hissed again, louder and more threateningly this time.

"Would you believe that this magnificent creature was extinct until I resurrected him four days ago? Astonishing how a creature built specifically to deal death could ever die out, don't you agree?"

"This is bad," Loretta growled.

"Let's see how well my dragon can handle this," scoffed Maria, although she was frightened by Camilla's lack of concern.

Ah-ah-ah. Do you realize that you are at the bottom of the tower? In other words, you are at its foundation. Damage this room, and the whole tower collapses on top of you!" She cackled again.

Stella arrived back on the scene along with Charlotte and Jonathan just as the Chupacabra pounced, landing on top of Alucard. It made a move to tear out his throat, but he caught its clawed hand as it descended and used it as leverage to toss the monster away. It landed hard on the floor and rolled away a few more feet before fluidly bouncing back to its feet and charging at Jonathan, who promptly drew his Nebula whip. He slid under the monster's pouncing attack and stretched his right arm out behind him, letting the Nebula take care of the rest. It reacted to the Chupacabra's tainted aura immediately, shooting out on its own to wrap itself around one the beast's legs.

"Stella! Spear out! Now!" Jonathan shouted his order and swung the whip out, letting it use its own power to carry the larger creature through the air and send it flying towards Stella, who had the Alucard Spear outstretched. "Let's end this quick!" he roared, letting the whip release its hold on the monster's leg. It landed on the spear, impaling itself squarely in the chest, the large blade of the spear opening a huge gash in the beast's flesh from which thick blackish blood seeped.

"_Augh!_"

With a gasp of overexertion, Stella let the spear clatter to the floor, the Chupacabra's weight proving to be far too great for her on her own. While Jonathan may have had the help of the Nebula, the Alucard Spear had no mind of its own, and no will to keep itself held steady.

"Are you finished yet?" Maria said irritably. Camilla just grinned viciously, showing her fangs for added effect.

"Not nearly! Keep an eye on your enemies: If _they_ aren't dead, you can be sure they'll still be ready to kill _you_!"

Maria didn't need another hint. She dived sideways to the floor and watched as the would-be incapacitated Chupacabra skidded to a halt, its claws digging into the floor upon which she had stood only a moment earlier. The blade of the Alucard Spear grated against the floor as the creature adopted a crouched position, without any warning it tore the spear out of its body and hurled it back at Stella, who narrowly managed to avoid having the left side of her body removed.

There was a growl from behind the group. Several in fact.

"It appears as though the guests I've invited to our little party have arrived. How nice of them to show," Camilla grinned maliciously. Charlotte turned around and recognized the wolf-like monsters immediately.

"Wargs!"

While four members of the group gathered together into a circle to defend themselves against the two-pronged attack, Alucard and Maria both had similar ideas.

"You can transform into a wolf right?"

"Yes, indeed I can."

"Sweet! Just distract them for a moment then, I've got a really cool idea."

"Could I hear it?"

"It could kill that Chuplacraba thing."

"Chupacabra. But could you please elaborate?"

"It might save our lives!"

"That's all well and good, but—"

"Okay, listen carefully…"

Alucard's eyes widened as he realized how well she had thought her idea out.

"Very elaborate. You think very quickly Miss Fox. Commendable."

"Thank you—waitasec, let's not get back to _this_ again: It's Maria. _Just_ Maria!"

"Alucard's only responses were a sly chuckle and his subsequent transformation into a large member of the Lupus species. He began a string of snarls, barks and growls that had the wargs looking around at each other uncomfortably and whining like kicked puppies. Maria quickly ran up to them and placed her hands on the faces of two in particular that were standing close together. A Chinese symbol appeared on their respective 'foreheads' and she moved on to another pair of the wolves placing the same Chinese symbols on their heads. She repeated this three more times until there were ten wargs that had the same symbol on their faces. She went up to one of them in particular, likely the alpha-male judging by its size, posture and position in the group and gave it a quick rub on the head before scratching it behind its ears.

"Who's a good boy? You are! You are. You can understand me even without this silly enchantment can't you? I know it's uncomfortable, but I'll let you go in a minute. I just need you to help me and my friends out for a minute and then you can go back to hunting for…whatever you like to eat…okay?"

"Wroorf!" it gave a bark of approval and sneezed good-naturedly.

"Okay then, could you and your friends help take down that mean ugly creature over there? The one that's gross and bleeding all over the place?"

The warg nodded faintly and then gestured to the others in its pack. They advanced on Camilla and the Chupacabra, waiting for Maria's orders.

"What in Hell did you do to my wargs!" Camilla cried out in disgust.

"Oh, just a little enchantment to make them more friendly and slightly more obedient," Maria grinned widely, "Alucard, ready?"

The wolf that was Alucard barked and nodded in a very human-like manner.

"Alright then! Dual Crush! Wolf Pack Assault!"

The wargs charged, and Alucard pounced on top of Camilla, making her collapse to the floor. Before the Chupacabra could react to assist its stunned mistress, it was overwhelmed by ten hungry wolf-monsters, all out for its blood. It was torn to pieces in moments, and seconds later, some rather satisfied and un-enchanted wargs were munching on tasty Chupacabra steaks. Very rare, in multiple senses of the term. Alucard in the meantime was mauling Camilla and almost having a good time about it.

"_Filthy bloodsucker! You do not deserve to live!"_

Of course he was in the form a wolf, so what he said came out more like this:

"_Arrrr!_ Cccchhhhhsss! Rragh! _Hufffff! Aroo!_" he yelped as he clamped down on a small metal object and grated his teeth on it. Nevertheless, he still ripped it out of her dress pocket and spat it out along with some foul-tasting fluids.

"Hssss. Rrrrrrgh. Whhhhinnnne…" Which of course meant: _"Vampire blood. Ugh. Tastes worse than mother's cough medicine. That worked very well though."_

"What's this key for?" Maria asked, picking up a very ornate skeleton key. She wiped the blood off on Alucard's fur. She had never realized how annoyed wolves could look before that moment in her life. Two of the wargs looked at her and shook their heads.

"_That's going to show up on my cape you know,"_ he grumbled before he remembered that he only sounded like a whining dog to her. He changed back into his human form and kicked Camilla away. She stood up immediately and gasped at the mess that the wargs had turned the Chupacabra into.

"What have you done to my pet!" she shrieked, "How dare you murder my Chupacabra! Mortal scum! I promise you will pay for this with your lives!" she summoned her usual dark cloud, and backed into it, disappearing from sight.

**The next time we meet you'll _all_ die you miserable insects!**

"That was rough!" Jonathan groaned, leaning against a wall.

"Did that monster scratch any of you?" Loretta asked worriedly.

She was stunned and delighted to find that nobody answered her in the affirmative. Then Alucard raised his hand.

"Charlotte, you have to cast _Sanctuary_ on him! In a couple of hours, he'll turn into a cave troll if you don't!"

"I would not worry about that. With my cursed blood comes protection from external forces. The magical poison of the Chupacabra dissipated upon contact with my blood; there is no need for you to expend your energy. But this spell you keep mentioning intrigues me. What does it do exactly?"

"It purifies…well everything, reverting it back to its original state," Charlotte explained, "It's the reason that Stella and Loretta are here with us today as well. They were turned into vampires and—"

"This spell changed them back? Nonsense! Nothing can cure that curse!" Alucard nearly stammered.

"As long as we weren't born with it, it can cure anything," Charlotte said proudly, "I'd like to say that I invented it, but I actually found it in a hole in the ceiling of a tomb."

"So the two Lecarde girls were turned into vampires?" Alucard grimaced, "Where was your father during all of this?"

"Right here in Castlevania," Loretta said quietly, "We were bitten and then Brauner killed him right in front of us."

"Vile demon," Alucard growled.

"Hey, what do you have there, Maria?" Stella interrupted the others to ask. Maria held the key up to the light.

"Ohhhh yesssss," Stella rubbed her hands together eagerly.

* * *

><p>"Master, I have a new report for you," Slogra hissed, kneeling before Death.<p>

"Speak, my servant," Death tapped the arm of his throne idly. He was not so much sitting on it as he was hovering above it at a sitting level, but the furniture helped make the sparsely decorated room more dramatic. And Death knew better than anyone that Dracula had never been able to resist drama, even when designing the castle. In fact, his dramatic side was often his Achilles' Heel.

"I'll have to make sure he's prepared not to go overboard on the theatrics this time around. If the Prophecy of 1999 proves to be accurate, we'll need to be prepared."

"What was that, my master?" Slogra asked.

"Nothing at all, I was merely pondering a dangerous possibility. Go ahead, what news do you bring me?

"The vile Camilla has been actively pursuing your puppets."

"If only they _were_ so easy to manipulate," Death muttered under his virtually nonexistent breath.

"She seems to be driven by a resentful fit of rage. Stella Lecarde seems to have offended her, and then beaten her twice. I believe that she may have set Camilla off on a self-destructive spiral. I would say that I was concerned for her wellbeing, except for the fact that—heh—I'm not." Slogra giggled hysterically at his own joke.

"Of course not," Death dismissed the joke, "Keep in mind that I am not idle here, I am watching Bernhard's movements very carefully. He has a plan for her that he has…conveniently…neglected to inform her of."

"This should prove to be quite a show, don't you agree Master?" Slogra inquired, "Gaibon my friend, what do you think?"

The draconic minion bared his teeth and curled the ends of his mouth into a savage grin of sorts. It growled shakily to produce a noise that almost sounded like a throaty laugh.

"This is going to be interesting," said Death, "Very interesting indeed."

"Will you dispose of the hunters once they have removed Camilla, Master? Or will you let them continue clearing out the rest of the usurpers?" Slogra asked.

"I think that I will do as they please for the time being," Death drawled, "As worried as I am of becoming sympathetic to their cause, it would be counterproductive to put an end to them at this point. After all, they can destroy Camilla, and then I can finally get involved. And with their little succubus friend searching for that buffoon Orlok, we should have this game playing in our favor long before Alastor can even begin to realize something is amiss."

Slogra and Gaibon exchanged glances.

"Shall we head to our new post, Master?"

"Very well, I must continue focusing on Bernhard's plans or I may make a mistake in my strategy. You are dismissed."

"Thank you Master."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I figured if Alucard's old companion Lyudmil could be a vampire and still be a good person, so could Brauner. After all, (SPOILERS) in the bad ending, he says that all he ever wanted to do was protect his family. (SPOILERS END) So how did I do going about showing that? Even though he accepts them to be the daughters of Eric Lecarde, he still loves them in his own somewhat warped fashion. I'm worried: Can Alucard even get sick? I'm assuming that he might have as a child, so I'll hope that that can work for me here. Also, who recognizes the laugh that I gave Camilla? Hint: androgynous male villain.<strong>

**And who can tell me what movie Maria makes a reference to? It's a modern stop-motion-animation movie with George Clooney in it.**


	12. Chapter XII: The Ram Headed Demon Lord

**Chapter XII**

**The Ram-Headed Demon Lord**

* * *

><p>"So the door we were telling you about? It should be somewhere around here…" mused Stella. Since the incident in the gallery, Stella had led the group back to the catacombs where she and Loretta had found the locked door. There it was; the elegant medieval door stood out, incredibly conspicuous in the earthy, cavernous tunnels. Sure enough, the key that Alucard had torn out of Camilla's dress pocket fit the lock perfectly. A turn and a push and they were in. Inside there was a small antechamber. There were two other exits besides the one that they had come in through. One had a glass door, and it lead to a rather feminine-looking sanctuary. The other was a thick stone portcullis, beyond which lay a very dark room.<p>

They decided it would be a good idea to rest and took the opportunity that the sanctuary presented them. However curiosity soon got the better of them and they decided to check out what was behind the stone gate. Several sturdy chains hung from the ceiling and Jonathan, Stella and Alucard immediately got to work raising the gate.

As the portcullis rose, Maria got chills and Loretta seemed to shiver; an unusual action considering her power over ice. She rarely got cold, if ever. Charlotte and Alucard felt the full blast of the assault head on. He staggered, only keeping his hold on the chain using sheer strength of will. She leaned on the stone wall to keep herself from collapsing. The power coming from the demonic aura alone was immense.

"Something bad's in there, Jonathan," Charlotte gasped, "We can't go in there. We aren't prepared."

"Whaddya mean? It's just a dark room. Nothing to be afraid of."

"Jonathan, I'm serious! We really shouldn't go in there! You can't feel it because you barely use magic at all, but the power of the demonic aura being emitted from that room is at least as powerful as Dracula himself!"

"Look, if anything's in there, whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it. After all, we thrashed Dracula, and thrashed 'im good."

"Barely! Not to mention that this is different: We don't know what we're up against. We can't just rush in there! We'll get ourselves killed!"

"I agree with Charlotte," Alucard grimaced, "You would be wise to follow our example."

"Alright, no problem. We'll just come back later when we're better equipped."

**I think not!**

"Wha—" Jonathan uttered before watching helplessly as Charlotte, Maria and Loretta seemed to be tossed through the open gate. If he dropped it he'd be more likely to kill them, either by crushing them underneath the spikes or just from the collision with the gate itself. He was unable to resist as he was swept off his feet and pulled low into the air along with Stella and Alucard. The gate began falling. He suddenly found himself in the other side of the gate, Stella and Alucard landing a few feet away from him. Behind him, he felt the gigantic, rumbling crash as the heavy portcullis slammed shut behind him more than heard it.

**Come to me, my prey.**

"What the—Who said that?" Maria cried out.

**You _dare_ ask my name, human filth! Well know this: I answer not for your sake, but because _all humans_ must know the _terror_ that my name brings. I am Adramelech! My name means King of Fire. Cower before my inconceivable might!**

Alucard's eyes widened in the darkness, as did Charlotte's. She suddenly noticed that she could see perfectly, despite the fact that there was no source of light in the room. Judging by the expressions on her friends' faces, they could see fine as well. The room was gigantic. It was also littered with bones, especially skulls. Mostly animals' but there were a few that looked human enough to send chills down her spine. However, she saw no sign of their captor. She looked around wildly.

**Look above you, wretched girl.**

She obeyed and nearly wished she hadn't. It wasn't that the face of the demon was grotesque in any way—In fact, it was actually quite regal—It was that its power was now far too apparent for her comfort level. Adramelech's head was that of a gargantuan ram with dramatic curled horns, silvery black in color. His upper body was muscular, covered in thick emerald fir. And that was all she could see: The rest of his body was encased in a massive full-body manacle built in the shape of a box out of black rock. Once again, she marveled at how she could even see colors in the pitch darkness of the room. His hands, also emerald green, were also exposed on either side of him, level with his head, making him look like a prisoner in medieval shackles. They were human-like hands, but furrier and with sharp claws, black like obsidian. And even with all of his restrictions encasing him, his huge body was still covered in thick leather buckles that went around his waist and around his upper arms and shoulders, making sure that he couldn't wriggle out of his bindings or struggle out of them by heaving his shoulders up. The straps even went around his neck and over his face. Even his eyes were blocked from view. Each covered by several perfectly connected straps. There were silver buckles that were conspicuously placed over his eyes. She could feel that all of his bindings were enchanted with various powerful sealing spells beyond ever her comprehension. And if he was still as powerful as Dracula even with such restrictions, she was terrified of the very thought that he might ever escape.

"Forget the Four Riders and an Anti-Christ. This guy could bring the apocalypse all by himself," she whispered.

"Well then, we know exactly what we have to do," she jumped in apprehension as a voice came from behind her, despite its familiarity, "Nice and straightforward," Jonathan said back. She was astonished that he didn't seem concerned.

**It is time. Time for you rags to die.**

Charlotte noticed that there was actually a gag placed in his mouth. He was speaking by transmitting his thoughts directly into reality using some form of magic she had never heard of.

"Sorry, but I've got other plans," said Jonathan cockily.

**Really?** The demon drawled, amused by his prey's foolish attitude.

"Yep. Oh yeah, so do they," He pointed to the rest of his companions.

**Very well: You shall not make it to your insignificant human convergence. Perhaps you will be missed.**

"Pathetic human _what?_" Jonathan actually understood that word, and was now just trying to see if he could just bother Adramelech into submission. It had worked before on a lesser demon. Even an archdemon couldn't possibly be that different.

**You should not disrespect the only thing standing between you and annihilation. Or perhaps you have a poor sense of self-preservation.**

"No, I'm just getting a kick out of bothering you. What are you gonna do to me you giant goat? Eat my jacket?"

**Your insolence will be your undoing. Now, perish!**

"Not a chance," Jonathan grinned and dived out of the way as every skull in the room rose into the air and converged on him, swooping at him from all directions.

He pulled out his Undead Killer and the Nebula and jumped, lashing out at the demon's face with both of them. Adramelech roared not out of pain, but out of pure rage.

**You have sealed your fate! Die!**

The skulls in the room flew around everywhere, attacking anything that they passed. Stella tried hacking the skulls to pieces. Kaladbolg bounced off of one of them like it was made of titanium. She may as well have been trying to cut a steel girder with a butterknife. She was thrown into the air by a swarm of skulls and fell to the floor in a heap, unconscious.

Loretta didn't even have time to run to her sister's aid, before she found herself surrounded by toxic-looking bubbles. She made an effort to avoid them but was knocked into one of them. She realized a moment later that she couldn't feel her magic abilities when she called upon them.

Across the room Maria seemed to be having the same problem. She was trying to summon her dragon but like Loretta, she had been cursed as well.

Charlotte seemed to be dodging skulls and poisoned bubbles like an expert. She opened the Book of Binding to a particular page and put her finger inside to hold her place before closing it again.

"Jonathan, give me a boost!" She began muttering an incantation.

"Be right there!" he backflipped over the swarm of skulls and dashed towards her. He allowed her to hop into his shoulders and jump off and upwards to the height of Adramelech's head. She finished her incantation at that moment and praying she hadn't gotten the spell wrong, she completed the spell:

"_Piercing Beam!_"

A brilliant ray of light burst forth from Charlotte's book and enveloped the demon's head. He bellowed in pain.

"Nice shot!"

"Thanks for the lift."

Alucard was dashing about the room evading skulls and bubbles alike. Finally he saw an opportunity: he leaped acrobatically into the air and slashed furiously at the goat-headed demon's face.

His strikes broke the skin, causing several small rivers of blood to flow down the demon's face.

Suddenly a wave of skulls assailed him in mid-blow and he was knocked toward Adramelech's body. The blow slashed through one of the leather seals binding him to his shackles. There was a low rumble as the room began to shake. One by one, the buckles restraining Adramelech snapped off and fell uselessly to the floor.

With a huge crash, Adramelech tore his right hand out of the stone shackles binding him and with it he tore off the last remaining belt buckles: the ones over his eyes an around his horns. The eyes were awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. They burned with a deep red light, the color of hellfire. He smashed the other stone shackle binding his left hand, reducing it to rubble, and with a jerk of his head, his entire upper body was free. There was another crash and Adramelech finally stood up for the first time in centuries. He was exactly as they expected him to look: Like a goat, complete with colossal hooves. The one thing that they didn't expect was the fact that instead of having a goat's tail, he had that of a peacock. He shook himself to wake up his sleeping limbs.

"Damnit!" Alucard roared.

**I really must thank you young dhampir. I haven't felt so powerful in centuries! I shall finally take all that this world owes me!**

"Don't count on it!" Jonathan snarled.

**What was that? I heard a buzzing noise. Perhaps an insect?** the demon said, feigning curiosity.

"_I said don't count on it _you massive…monstrosity of…mold colored _mutton!_"

Charlotte gawked, staring dumbstruck at Jonathan. Adramelech's glare could kill. In fact, really _did_ kill: It caused a rat on the floor next to Jonathan to spontaneously combust.

**I shall no longer forgive your transgressions against me. Prepare to die!**

"That's…what, like the _third_ time you've made that kind of threat. If you're going to kill me, do it already!"

The skulls swarmed towards him again. He managed to jump above most of them and dodge the rest. The demon's head was far above him now, at least three-quarters of the way to the ceiling now, but the rubble of his stone prison gave Jonathan a decent boost. Making his way to the highest point in the rubble, he made a jump towards the demonlord and threw a pair of cross boomerangs at his face, before falling back down to the floor. Repeating this process, he then repeatedly whipped the Undead Killer across his eye, earning a roar of pain. Adramelech's sheer size was formidable, but it left him with very little room to move around. Despite the fact that virtually all of the attacks against him were aimed at his face, there were only a few placed where it had broken Adramelech's skin. However, oddly enough, cuts seemed to be opening up all over his body, blood changing the color of his fir from green to mottled shades of red and black. His movements were slowing down as well.

"You're not looking too good, peacock-butt! Maybe you should go lie down?"

He wasn't graced with an angry retort, but Adramelech's smoldering eyes flared at Jonathan's insult.

Alucard had transformed into a bat to get closer to the demon's head and was shooting fireballs out of his mouth, leaving scorch marks on Adramelech's face and body. Being a much smaller target as a bat, he was easily able to maneuver through the swarm of skulls whenever they came around.

Suddenly fire shot from the floor where Jonathan stood. He screamed and leaped out of the way too late, ending up completely singed. He rolled on the floor to put out some fires still burning on his clothes and wearily picked himself up.

Up in the air above them, Alucard was now dodging waves of fire that Adamelech was shooting from his eyes. A blast hit him and he fell to the ground in a leathery heap.

"Alucard!" Maria tried to make her way towards the unconscious bat but was stopped in her tracks as a wall of fire erupted from the ground between her and the rest of the combatants.

Jonathan was getting fed up with this fight. While they had made some progress, this demon seemed utterly unstoppable. Charlotte ran over to Jonathan.

"What have you been doing this whole time?" Jonathan shouted, "We kinda needed you!"

"Sorry I was just getting a particular spell ready. We do this one together," she showed him the spell she was using and closed the book again. "Now, on three:"

"One," they said in unison.

"Two…"

"Three!"

"_Grand Cross!_"

As they shouted this, four gigantic ethereal holy crosses rose out of the floor and circled around them, rising to the ceiling and emitting holy energy all around the surrounding area. As the light hit Adramelech's face, he howled in agony, falling to his knees. The pain lasted a whole twenty seconds before he was able to regain his bearings. He tried to burn them where they stood, but his spell only caused the stones they stood on to blacken. His flaming eyes widened, but then narrowed again. His strength was overwhelming on its own.

With a roar, he slid his hand along the ground and slammed Jonathan into a wall hard enough to make it collapse on top of him. With his other hand, he grabbed Charlotte before she could even scream. This one had caused him a great deal of pain, and for that she would suffer. He clenched his fist around her body, listening to the music of her bones straining themselves not to break. He squeezed tighter, and bones began snapping.

**You caused me much agony girl. Your time is at hand, and because I am the one to kill you, you shall be doomed to eternal torture in the deepest circle of Hell! Now, suffer and die!**

She screamed in horrific throes pain as she felt the bones in her arms break, followed by several ribs. She couldn't even struggle anymore and it hurt just to breathe. She was going to die here—she knew it. Crushed to death by a gigantic demon.

"…Jonathan…"

It was barely a whimper, but even beneath the rubble of the wall, a pair of blue eyes snapped open. It didn't matter how inaudible the words may have been, he would have heard her from the other side of the world. Bursting forth from the debris, he hefted Balmung over his head from its place on his back. He felt three broken ribs but for some reason the pain wasn't bothering him. His mind was on a single track and it wasn't going to stray from that path for anything. Making a prodigious leap, he landed at the top of the wreckage from the stone shackles and jumped high into the air until he was level with Adramelech's head. He seemed to strike from multiple directions at once. Adramelech would have screamed but his vocal chords and trachea had been severed. Gashes burst open across the demonlord's body as Jonathan struck his head over and over again. Suddenly, all of Jonathan's energy left him in an instant. He fell unconscious in midair and dropped to the floor in front of Charlotte. With a crash, the crimson-stained body of the demon fell backwards and behind Jonathan's unconscious form, the severed head of Adramelech fell to the floor with a damp thud.

The flames separating the group members subsided and the portcullis separating the room from the antechamber crumbled to fine sand. And that was all Charlotte knew before she lost consciousness herself.

* * *

><p>She didn't know how long she was unconscious for, but she had woken up feeling fantastic. She also knew who had saved her: Looking to her side she found him sleeping a bed over from her. Ignoring the dizziness, she stood up and stumbled her way over to Jonathan's bed, carefully lowering her body into a kneeling position on the floor next to the bed so that she could get a good look at his face. She noticed that his clothes were cleaned and folded up on the end-table next to him, which prompted her to look down at what she was wearing: She wasn't in her corset, skirt and half-cape anymore, apparently having been changed into a loose-fitting white gown while she was unconscious. Jonathan's breathing was steady and he didn't seem to have any bruises left on his face. She tried applying pressure to the places on her body where she had been injured, but didn't feel anything. They'd obviously both been given potions and had healed up nicely. Which meant that Jonathan would be waking up any time now. After a couple more minutes of waiting, his eyes fluttered open drowsily.<p>

"Charlotte?"

"Yeah," she smiled back at him.

"That good natured smile of yours is making me worry."

"Sorry. I can't help it."

"Why not? I keep thinking that you're about to do something really bad to me."

"Why would I? I just realized something very important."

"And what would that be?"

"Well back there when we fought Adramelech, you did something, and…well…it just struck me. I should have realized it ages ago, but…well…I don't know what stopped me from figuring it out. I…I…" she struggled fervently to say what she was feeling, her breathing growing irregular and her face turning beet red. Finally "I think…that _I'm in love with you!_" she rushed to get the words out of her mouth.

"Really? I don't see it… What did I do exactly that was so special?"

"Well, like I said when we were fighting Adramelech, you said something…"

"Said? You mean it's _not_ because I saved your life?"

"You do that on a regular basis."

"So what did I say? I don't remember saying anything particularly special."

"You…you used _alliteration!_"

"What! You're kidding! You're suddenly crazy about me because I said he was a…what was it…a…uhh…oh yeah, 'a massive monstrosity of mold colored mutton?'"

"Oh! You did it again!" she giggled.

"Why do I suddenly feel so inadequate?"

"Inadequate? You just proved to me that you're _not_ a total idiot! …Don't you realize how much that means to me?"

"Well, I don't really see myself that way, so most of what you've said since I woke up has been kind of detrimental to my ego."

Charlotte's face went from being a picture of bliss to an image of regret.

"S'cuse me, I'm, uh, gonna go clean up," she went around to the other side of her bed to her own end-table and picked up her clothes, carrying them with her into the sanctuary's washroom and closing the door behind her.

"Ugh…how did I destroy that opportunity so completely?" she splashed water over her face from the sink.

"Do I even like him like that, or was his apparent spark of intellect messing with my head? That's gotta be it. He can't really be smart. It's definitely just a one-time thing."


	13. Chapter XIII: The Imprisoned Monsters

**Chapter XIII**

**The Imprisoned Monsters**

* * *

><p>"We're back!" Maria announced as she stepped into the sanctuary.<p>

She glanced at Alucard who noticed her gesture and still did nothing. She nudged him in the ribs.

"We took the liberty of restocking our potions," he said calmly, much to Maria's displeasure, "We used most of the rest to heal the two of you."

"That giant goat-headed freak show sure did a number on you guys," Maria said cheerfully. She cast a glare at Alucard who nearly recoiled before responding miserably to her comment.

"…Twenty seven…"

"Yay!" Maria cheered and hopped into the air.

"Uh, what are we all missing here?" Jonathan asked the dhampir. Alucard's shoulders sagged upon hearing the question.

"She intends to make me more sociable. I understand why she might feel it a noble cause, but it is a doomed effort. Her current techniques are especially terrible, as well as painful."

"And those methods are…?" Charlotte prompted.

"She thinks that I might follow up on some of her silly remarks. She is mistaken and it is ebbing away at my sanity. Please tell her to stop."

Maria's eyes flared.

"Would it _kill_ you to be more cheerful?" she shouted.

"I suppose not, but I have no reason to feel so, and it would not fit my personality as it is. It would not kill me, but it would severely injure what little self-respect I have for myself."

Maria seemed to wilt at the analysis.

"But, why don't you think it's okay to be happy?"

"My blood is cursed. You know that. I am a monster. When this escapade is complete, I will return to my coffin and resume my eternal slumber. If I can dream, then I may be happy, because that way there will be no chance of me hurting anyone."

Maria walked away silently and sat down on one of the beds.

"Except me," she whispered.

"What was that?" Jonathan asked her.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Whatever you say. Alucard says to stop, by the way."

"I heard him!" she shouted haughtily.

"Ow! That hurts like the Devil!" Stella howled as she staggered through the doorway. Her already tattered dress was barely even hanging off of her shoulders anymore. Jonathan was sure it would just slip off entirely at any moment. He also noticed that she was bleeding and there were seven arrows protruding from her back. But that dress…

"Eyes off of her chest you pervert," Charlotte reprimanded him, dragging him of by the ear, "What happened to you on your way back Stella? You're a total wreck!"

"I got beaten by a skeleton flail and got trapped in a room with a horde of skeleton archers. Then an axe armor, well, axed me in the side of the head. And I know that seems unlike me but these rooms were all swarming with medusa heads. I hate hate hate hate hate _hate hate hate hate hate medusa heads! I wanna kill them and murder their families!_"

"Calm down Stella," Loretta cooed soothingly, "I'll help close the wounds and when we get out of here we'll buy a new dress that's identical to the one you're wearing."

"Yeah…" Stella sighed in blissful deliriousness. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed like a house of cards.

"Eek! Sister!" Loretta cried out worriedly, immediately grabbing a potion and force-feeding it to her sister.

* * *

><p>Three restful hours later, Charlotte was still, understandably, feeling rather awkward around Jonathan, having said what she had earlier and with him responding so…insensitively? No, not insensitively, more as though he were mildly frightened or worried. Was he actually creeped out by her? Maybe he just respected her too much to say so?<p>

Before she had time to mull this over, Stella, now wearing a beige leather fencer's outfit, approached her. Charlotte vaguely noticed that the right side of her head was bandaged, blocking her eye and forcing her hair to be let down. Charlotte had never realized how long Stella's hair actually was. It fell almost all the way down to her waist, short only by a few inches.

"We're just about ready to continue on ahead. Are you ready?"

Charlotte stared blankly back for a few moments before blinking and refocusing her attention.

"Uh, sorry, what was that, I was a bit spaced out when you said…that."

Stella huffed impatiently, "I _said_ that we're about to leave and I asked if you were ready to go."

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm ready."

"Then let's get going," Stella turned on her heel and went over and left the sanctuary, convening with the rest of the group in the antechamber and leaving Charlotte by herself. She got up from the bed and looked at herself in the washroom's mirror.

"What's wrong with me?" She mumbled. She knew that _something_ was off about herself. Why would she just blurt something out like that? Did she even really like Jonathan that much? No way! He was a total dunce: She'd known that about him for years. Her perfect guy was an academic like her. But then again, if her perfect guy really _was_ an academic, how would he take the fact that she was a witch? Wouldn't he try to prove all of her magic was either fake of provable by science? God forbid anyone would do that. She'd be harassed for years on end. But then did that also mean that Jonathan was her only option? Or maybe Oliver? One was an idiot and the other was a coward…although in Oliver's defense, his potion prices were _fabulous_. And Jonathan was always fun to be around _and_ was an endless source of entertainment.

"You said you were ready?" Stella said irritably, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah…coming."

Charlotte made a point however of returning to these thoughts at the next available opportunity.

* * *

><p>After a quick examination of the room occupied by the late Adramelech, they found a heavy iron door embedded in the masonry. It was locked.<p>

"Alucard? Would you do the honors?" Maria asked. All she got was a shrug. He took the key out of his coat pocket and placed it into the keyhole under the handle. He turned it and with a heavy clanking the tumbler opened and the metal door slid open noisily.

The room beyond was strange to say the least. It was full of thick metal tubes and walls, and the lighting was sparse and inelegant, giving the hall the appearance of a prison.

"So what is this place exactly?" Loretta asked uncomfortably.

"I'm not really sure," Charlotte mused, "I mean it _looks_ like prison in certain ways, but if it is, where are the cells?"

"There's a lever over here," Jonathan gestured to a thin metal rod built into the left wall, "Do you think it's a trap or should I move it?"

"There's one on the opposite wall too, so I don't think it's a trap," Charlotte guessed, "Let's move them at the same time just in case. They might spring a trap if activated at different times."

"Alright then, let's do it," Jonathan nodded.

They both went over to the levers and with a heave, pushed them from a downward position into an upward position. The result was obvious and immediate: With the grinding of a multitude of gears, the iron walls and tubes rose into the ceiling. What was beyond them was disturbing to say the least.

"It really _is_ a prison," gasped Maria.

"A prison? More like a monster zoo," Stella observed, "Although I guess that the room does have a prison-ish vibe to it."

They walked down the hall passing a variety of different monsters. In several rooms there were what appeared to be what would have otherwise been white dragons, but these things actually had bodies. And skin.

"They're actually… alive!" Jonathan said in astonishment.

The tubes mostly contained what may once have been humans, but virtually all of them were hideously mutated. Some were clearly victims of Camilla's Chupacabra, judging by the fact that some of them looked to be something between human and cave troll. They continued along the dimly lit corridors. Playful warg pups in one cell, fiery salamanders in another. Camilla seemed to be doing some very twisted experiments on her monsters: In one holding cell, they found a pack of unmoving puppies–or at least what was left of what obviously puppies of a variety of different dogs. They had all been horrifically mutilated and they were clearly all undead. Maria couldn't look at it for even a second before she ran past it as fast she could. In a particularly bizarre case, hey found what might have been resurrected bone pillars. They were quite literally a bunch of stacked dinosaur heads grafted on top of each other, all of which were alive judging by the healthy-looking skin.

The further into the laboratory/prison they went, the larger the cells–and their occupants–became. They had gotten close to reaching the end of the hall. In a particularly large cell full of jungle-like foliage, they found an entire pack of what appeared to be dinosaurs, but they were almost _bird_-like. Their posture, they way they held their heads, the shape of their arms and legs. Everything screamed bird. But dinosaurs couldn't possibly be related to birds, could they? Wouldn't they be closer to something like alligators, or other large reptiles? Jonathan didn't know what velociraptors were, nor did anyone on the planet, but they were nothing like the lumbering creatures he imagined them to be. They were agile, light-footed and they looked positively deadly with their long claws, especially the hooked claw on their middle toe. But most frightening of all was when one of the creatures came up to the forcefield that imprisoned it and looked at him. In that reptile's eyes, Jonathan could see a terrifying intelligence. These things were smart, they were clearly team players judging by the way they grouped together as they play-fought one another, and they looked twice as vicious as wild dogs. God forbid they should escape into the outside world. The damage they could cause would be at least slightly significant.

Another cell that also had a jungle theme inside it didn't appear to have anything inside it. Then with a crash, a large grey dinosaur-like creature with no arms, a short tail, and muscular legs with blunt claws stomped through the foliage and charged at the forcefield. There was an electrical buzzing sound and the creature was tossed backwards, landing on its side with a heavy thud. It roared and reared back. It pulled its 'lips' back revealing the blunt teeth of a herbivore, and with a hiss, a globe of white energy began to grow inside its mouth. After a few seconds it lunged forward and the globe expanded, transforming into a thick beam of searing energy. Fortunately for the six hunters, even that didn't break the forcefield.

"That, I know what that is!" Charlotte exclaimed, "That's Gergoth! She's resurrected Gergoth! Remember that undead monster we found in the _Nest of Evil_?"

"Yeah, I remember. Eric told us to kill it with a regular book, remember? That was brutal."

"Our father what?" Stella asked skeptically.

"That's a story that can wait. First we've got to set this gentle creature free before she torments it into insanity."

"What! Charlotte, are you out of your mind! It'll kill us!"

"No. It won't. Gergoth is a benevolent creature. It serves all that is good. The only reason it attacked us in the _Nest of Evil_ was because it was undead and driven to insanity from imprisonment."

The creature behind the forcefield lowered itself to the ground to have its face level with Charlotte's body. It seemed sad.

"Can you hear me?" she asked the beast gently.

It nodded, to everyone's astonishment.

"And you understand me too, don't you?"

Once again it nodded.

"I'm going to find a way to get you out of here," Charlotte said with fierce determination, "There has to be something in this hallway that can disable the barrier."

Gergoth nodded one last time, and slowly, it stomped off back into the foliage.

"Let's keep going," Charlotte decided, "There has to be something we can use to free him."

As they reached the end of the hallway, they found an utterly enormous cell. And within…

"Are those…?" Maria gasped in awe.

"Dragons? Yes," Charlotte confirmed.

Inside the cell were dragons of all shapes and sizes. There were coal black creatures like the one they had fought back in Ithaca, and great red beasts like the one that had appeared from the Book of Binding. There were huge green monsters that had serpentine bodies and wings. A hydra's heads seemed to bicker and snap at each other as wyverns flew high above it. Various other draconic creatures stalked the massive chamber beyond the forcefield. All of them were terrifying and magnificent. They noticed a strange panel on a wall far to their side. Walking up to it, Charlotte found a black scroll with white runes written on it. She understood what the spell was however.

"'Reverse…Sanctuary'? Does that mean that these monsters are trapped because of a twisted version of my own spell?"

"Could be… why don't you try your own out and see if it works?" Jonathan suggested.

"Alright."

They returned to the cell containing Gergoth and after a few minutes, _Sanctuary_'s long incantation had been recited.

Light erupted all around them. Charlotte focused all her energy into directing its power into the forcefield holding Gergoth. It only took a few moments: The barrier separating it from the rest of the world shattered and it was free. It bellowed excitedly.

"Releasing that creature may have been another mistake on your part, Miss Aulin," hissed a vaguely familiar voice.

They turned to see Slogra leaning against the opposite wall. Gaibon crouched next to him on the ground, a bored look on his face.

"And why exactly would that be?" Charlotte retorted.

"And what do you mean by 'another?'" Jonathan asked confrontationally.

"Consider this," Slogra raised a skeletal clawed finger and pointed in the direction that they came–the opposite end of the hall–where they had carelessly left the door open, "This room is a private chamber belonging to that accursed Devil Forgemistress. You have entered without express permission—which she would never give any of you mind you, you have killed her guardian, and you have also touched her…err…'belongings.' And then there's the small matter that you haven't locked her out. She is on her way here at this very moment, and because you locked neither the front entrance nor the door to this room, her inner chambers, she'll be able to step out of the shadows at any moment. Frankly I'm surprised she hasn't interrupted our little chat yet. If I were you, I would not have come here if I weren't absolutely ready for a direct fight with her. I'm not quite sure that you are prepared."

"Didn't your boss _want_ us to kill her though?" Jonathan asked bemusedly.

Gaibon suddenly raised his head in alarm. Slogra gave him a look.

"While the answer to that is yes, you haven't seen her fight yet. Now if you'll excuse us, we both must really be going."

There was a ripple in the air as the fabric of existence around Death's servants was distorted, and when it stopped, the two demons were gone.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Sella said in a hushed voice.

**And well you should!**

Camilla burst from of the shadows at the other end of the hall, her visage a portrait of all-consuming fury.

"_What have you done!_" she screeched.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Well, we've got a big showdown between your favorite extravagant ex-vampiress and Camilla coming up next. Stay tuned for the big showdown! But this is by no means the end of the story. Remember, they still have to defeat Orlok and Alastor. But until then…it's <em>¡SHOWTIME!<em> Coming up next!**


	14. Chapter XIV: Hell Hath No Fury

**Author's Note: Wow, I fell victim to the unlucky thirteenth chapter… I'm really sorry about that. This fic is going to continue, but updates will bee a bit slower, in the meantime, all of you who haven't left reviews before, please tell me your opinions, (especially of this chapter), because it really motivates me. See ya soon (hopefully. I haven't planned out the next couple chapters ahead of time, so updates will probably be slower).**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter XIV<strong>

**Hell Hath no Fury…**

* * *

><p>"<em>What have you done!<em>"

"We've killed the demon outside. And we've set this creature free. It was your long-term experiment wasn't it?" Charlotte asked rhetorically.

Camilla's face contorted in rage. "That's it! I'll kill all of you! None of you will leave _my chamber_ alive!" she summoned her scythe and ducked into her fighting stance.

"I'll handle this," Stella whipped out Burtgang and Kaladbolg and waved the other give members of the group away. Gergoth on the other hand stepped forward along with her. Stella just smirked.

"You know, Camilla, you should probably do something about the state of your skin. I'm sorry to put it so politely, but it looks positively grotesque."

"You will die for that!" Camilla's robes billowed and she shot a black beam at the cell containing the velociraptors. The forcefield dissipated and two of the pack hunters emerged almost curiously, looking around at their semi-new surroundings.

"Kwoah! Kwoah! Kwoah!" one of them called.

"What's it doing?" Charlotte asked nervously.

"Calling for its friends. And making sure that you don't interfere as I cut your friend to pieces."

Several other raptors ran out of the cell and joined the first two. They all were staring intently at the group of vampire hunters.

"You ready for a really tough fight, Jonathan?" Charlotte asked nervously.

"Heh, no problem," he said with confidence, drawing Agni's Flame.

Alucard pulled out Laevatain, which erupted into flame on command. Maria summoned her doves and Loretta prepared her ice spells. The raptors charged.

* * *

><p>Camilla seemed to disappear for a moment before Stella realized what would happen.<p>

"Secret Strike!" she shouted. Camilla's scythe passed through the air where she had stood a moment earlier. Instead it was Camilla who took a slash in the back. With a flourish, Stella used her other sword to unleash her Furious Wave, sending Camilla flying. Unfortunately, the vampiress wasn't nearly finished. She was back in front of Stella in seconds and she raised her scythe over her head, bringing it down with immense strength, Stella needed to block it with both of her swords, and even then she only managed to stop the blade from bisecting her head by a few inches. Camilla swung her scythe with the strength of a monster. It was all Stella could do to avoid being cleaved into pieces. Steel collided with steel as Stella's swords deflected the scythe.

"I'll slaughter you like an animal!" Camilla screamed. She slashed at Stella from the right side, piercing her leather armor and drawing blood.

"Yeah?" Stella taunted, "Try _this_ animal out then!" She held both swords horizontally and channeled glowing orange energy into the blades. Moments later she raised both swords above her and slashed both of them in an 'X.' "Leonazium!" A lion of roaring fire erupted from the swords and tore its way through Camilla's body, making the vampiress scream horrifically.

"Like that? I've been working on that technique for a whole year!"

"Worthless whore!"

"I know you are, but what am I?" Stella retorted with an obnoxious smirk.

"Die! I'll suck all the blood out of you and tear all of your bones out. Then I'll graft skeletal limbs onto you and turn you into a new kind of monster!"

Stella stabbed forward and ducked under Camilla's scythe as it soared towards her in a vicious arc, "Not…_happening!_" She jumped towards Camilla and vaulted over her shoulders, landing behind her and stabbed her in the gut with both swords.

Camilla howled and swung her scythe in a three hundred and sixty degree arc, nearly cutting Stella in half. However the swordmistress was already above her. Turning over in midair, she shot a vicious gut of wind out of her sword, blasting Camilla into the floor.

Stella landed just as Camilla picked herself up. They both whipped around to face each other.

"Wow, you can take a lot of punishment can't you?" Stella asked, twirling Kaladbolg in her left hand, "I'll give you this, you're putting up a good fight."

"_It will be your last!_" Camilla snarled and charged at her opponent.

* * *

><p>On the other end of the hall Jonathan and Alucard were doing their best to keep the raptors a bay. They were succeeding in injuring the dinosaurs, but the creatures were extremely quick and were constantly managing to avoid receiving any lethal blows.<p>

Charlotte had decided that trying to cast spells was hopeless when her opponents could cross twenty meters in five seconds and had replaced her Book of Binding with her Tome of Arms. She was suddenly tackled by one of the raptors, but she opened the book and slashed it repeatedly with a number of swords and axes. It snarled and rolled away, bouncing to its feet. She realized that she was surrounded by several raptors. However at the same moment, she also noticed something coming up behind some of them.

With a roar, Gergoth charged and rammed through an entire side of the circle of predatory reptiles. Charlotte decided that it would be a good idea to follow it until one of the raptors jumped over her head and landed in front of her. He others formed a wall of teeth and claws. She really was trapped now. That is, until Gergoth turned around and grabbed the raptor in front of her in its mouth. With a shake of its head, it sent the creature flying into its brethren. Alucard ran over to it and stabbed it with his Laevatain. The raptor screeched, flailed and was still. Gergoth vaporized the rest seconds later with its searing breath weapon.

* * *

><p>Stella jumped backwards into a wall and pushed off of it with her legs. She crashed forward and slashed at Camilla, who caught the blade of her sword with the shaft of her scythe and jabbed back with the blunt end, knocking Stella off balance for a moment.<p>

That was all the time she needed to make a brutal counterattack with her scythe's blade. Stella was sent flying into one of the barriers and bounced off of it, electrical sparks crackling all over her body, her energy depleted. She tried to get up but couldn't find the strength to pick herself up off the floor.

"Oh dear, is this too much for you? _Allow me to end this for you then!_" Camilla cackled maniacally and brought the blade of her scythe down through Stella's neck.

Or would have had Stella still been there. Instead, she he was hovering above Camilla, gale force winds circling her body and keeping her in the air. The vampiress jumped towards the air currents, only to be caught in one of the many powerful drafts and tossed back into a wall, which she nimbly flipped down from, landing gracefully on her feet.

Stella slowly set herself down and dusted herself off, the winds dissipating around her.

"You were saying?" she taunted, even as her breathing grew heavy.

"You're vile even for a human, you miserable scum!"

Stella growled, "Well, if you really are trying to finish me off, you'll need a lot more than a couple fancy tricks, threats and a couple of insults."

"I will never let a human get the better of me! You will rue the day that you ever crossed me!"

"Well then, you should be cursing yourself," Stella glared at the vampiress, "_You_ started this little war between us."

"I did no such thing!" Camilla snarled back.

"I beg to differ. Or do you not remember summoning a dragon to burn our house down? If you didn't want to make me as an enemy you should never have done that."

Camilla howled.

"It no longer matters! Regardless of what I've done, _you die today!_"

"Too bad. Didn't Jonathan tell you that we had other plans?"

"Stop _toying_ with me!"

"Fine. I think I will stop playing games"

Camilla was almost stunned before she realized how dire she had made her situation. She watched as Stella vanished. There was a shout and suddenly she was standing in front of her, holding a slightly shaken Loretta.

"Sister, get ready," Stella said calmly giving her sister a look.

Loretta nodded. She extended her arms towards Stella's swords, and ice began to gather around them until Stella seemed to be holding a pair of giant blades made out of ice.

"_Dual Crush! Double Ice Claymore!_" the sisters shouted in unison. Stella raised both icy swords above her head.

"I'll finish you off…" she hissed. She hurtled towards Camilla and slammed both swords down on top of her, "…here and _now!_" The ice shattered. Camilla's scythe flew out of her hands, clattering uselessly to the floor seven meters away. The vampiress herself lay embedded in the stonework floor. Her once crimson robes were stained black with blood, and her breathing was ragged. In one last burst of energy, she heaved herself up out of the human-shaped trench in the floor and stumbled back over to her scythe. She picked it up and dragged it along the stonework making one last attempt to kill Stella. The ex-vampiress in question simply walked up to her.

"You can't…win! I told you…that I would not let you see…another sunrise!" Camilla held her scythe like a walking stick, using it just keep herself standing, "Your life is a blight…on the world! You to not deserve to live! _It is a sin for you to live!_" Camilla shrieked. She heaved the scythe back over her head and swung it.

Blood sprayed like geyser, and for a moment nothing else happened.

And then Camilla crumpled to the ground, blood spilling from a deep wound just below her chest. Her scythe fell to the ground next to her, the blade barely missing her neck. Stella held Burtgang, covered in black blood out to her right. With a flourish, she whipped around, shook the blood off of both of her swords and placed them back in their respective scabbards.

"Never stood a chance," Stella muttered.

Loretta looked over at the still breathing form of Camilla and tapped her sister on the shoulder. "Sister, I think she's still alive…well maybe not alive, but at least not fully dead yet."

"Leave her, Loretta. Even as a vampire, she won't get far."

"I suppose you're right Stella."

"Hey, you guys! We're all done here!" Stella called over to the rest of the group.

"Which means that we don't have to stay here anymore?" Jonathan asked, looking at Gergoth nervously.

"Yep. Let's get outta here," Stella decided.

Before Charlotte left the room, she turned to face Gergoth, who, of course, couldn't fit through the human -sized doorway.

"I promise I'll find a way to set you free. I'll be back later."

Gergoth nodded and went back to its open habitation cell and curled up into a sleeping position on the floor.

Charlotte smiled and closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Several hours later…<p>

"How dare they make a fool out of me, I do not deserve this!" Camilla gasped, forcing herself into a standing position, using her scythe to support herself.

"Of course not," came an airy voice from behind her.

She looked behind her to see none other than Alastor standing with his cape pulled around his body. His fiery red hair framed his face just as elegantly as usual.

"M-Master Bernhard! I'm sorry! I have failed you!"

"Nonsense," Alastor drawled nonchalantly, opening up his cape and fingering the jeweled hilt of his sword, pulling it out just for good measure, "You have served your purpose well."

"Do you mean that, Master?" Camilla asked in astonishment.

"Most certainly, Camilla. You have done very splendidly, especially in altering my Damascus Sword here," he held the sword up to the light. Camilla stared at the emerald at the base of its pommel.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you!"

"I never was able to master the technique required to imbue a weapon with the power to steal the souls of those it strikes. I must earnestly thank you for that. Without this sword, all of my plans would fall to pieces."

"What _are_ your plans? You never told me or any of your other minions what you are truly trying to accomplish."

"All in good time, my dear, I'll tell you soon. You should get some rest. Go on, you cannot serve me if you cannot recuperate."

"Of course, Master."

Camilla turned to leave, listening to the ring of the metal as Alastor sheathed his…wait… The sword he had been carrying had an emerald in its hilt. The Damascus Sword had a blood ruby embedded in its pommel. Why had he talked about that other sword as thought it were the one she had forged? It didn't matter. All that would matter was that she serve her Master, and slaughter the Lecarde sisters.

"There _is_ one more task I have for you, however," Alastor mused. She turned around, to see a blood ruby inches away from her face. The sword was pointing down.

"Is there something about the sword that you would like altered, Master?"

"Not quite. But you're close…I need something stored _inside of it_."

Her eyes widened as a wave unspeakable dread washed over her and she realized what was to happen. And all she could do was stand there, paralyzed by her own terror.

* * *

><p>Up in the mazelike halls of the marble corridor, the six hunters stopped as a scream tore through the walls of the castle. It was the first time they would hear the agonized shrieking of a soul being severed from its body. It would not be the last. Nevertheless, looking back on it years later, they would all agree that they had never heard a sound more horrifying than what they had heard at that moment.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Well…<em>that<em> was certainly a surprise! After all of that, who would have guessed that it would be Alastor who would kill Camilla? Truth be told, I'd had this planned out from the beginning. Also, who can tell me what the "kwoah" sound the velociraptors made is a reference to? So, how was Camilla's final appearance? Review please.**

_**The Armory:**_

**Alastor's Weapons:**

**Damascus Sword:** A sword sharper than a razor that never goes dull. It's able to steal the souls of its victims.


	15. Chapter XV: Master of the Clock Tower

**EDIT: Mariabella Renaldo has been changed to Mariabella Fox. It's slightly less obvious and therefore works a lot better.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter XV<strong>

**Master of the Clock Tower**

* * *

><p>"Master," Slogra entered Death's chamber, Gaibon following closely, "We have a report for you."<p>

"Very well, what news do you have for me?"

"That is a very good question because we cannot be sure of our own findings. However, we believe Camilla Fernandez has been killed."

"That is a lie," Death hissed, "For your own sake, Slogra, I truly hope you do not take m for a fool. I can still feel that she is alive, or have you forgotten that I can sense the lives of all creatures that walk this Earth?"

"None of those, my lord," Slogra answered calmly, "But we know that we _have_ found her lifeless body."

"Have you indeed?"

"The reason we cannot be sure is because of a very bizarre phenomenon. She was not breathing, nor did she have a heartbeat, however, she was still bleeding from her last wound. There was far more blood than should have been possible for any single form of life. It was as if her body was still producing blood even though the rest of it no longer functioned. What's more, her blood was as clear as water, instead of the vampiric black or even the red of human blood. We are unsure what to make of this turn of events, my lord."

"Were there any other oddities about her?"

"Her face was contorted into a look of horror beyond anything I've ever seen, however I would expect that of her considering how she believed herself to be invincible."

"Very strange," Death mused, "I am as ignorant of what could have happened as you are."

"My deepest apologies, master, but that sounds very abnormal."

"The abnormality of this situation may not be the worst of it," Death muttered in a very uncharacteristically worried tone, "This disturbing phenomenon requires further investigation, and soon. This could be more dangerous than any of us realize."

* * *

><p>The group returned to the ruined gallery, having decided to ascend the tower. Considering what Camilla had said about the gallery being at the base of the tower, Jonathan had decided that the best place to look for the entrance to the many upper levels had to be where they had just arrived.<p>

"So you're sure that the entrance isn't somewhere in the library? Or any area above that?" Loretta asked.

"I'm really not sure," Charlotte confessed. She turned her head to talk to Jonathan "I mean, you may not look it, but I've found that you know what you're doing even when you're in unfamiliar territory. I trust his instincts. Even so that's all he's really got going for him."

"Hey!" Jonathan whined, giving Charlotte his 'kicked puppy look,' "I'm a lot smarter than you give me credit for."

"Come on, Jonathan. You know I'm joking."

"Yes I know, but that doesn't change the fact that it still bothers me," he grumbled before taking a deep breath. He stopped walking for a moment so that he could answer Loretta's question: "I'm not sure that there _isn't_ an entrance to the tower somewhere else, I just feel that it's particularly likely that we'll find an entrance here. All we have to do is find some stairs going up."

"I suppose that's true," Loretta agreed.

"I admit that I could be wrong. I might just lead us into some random nook or cranny in this castle that has something interesting in it but is otherwise a dead end. That's why it's important to explore this place thoroughly. Now, I'll just stop talking and we can be on our way."

"Nope! Not without me!" a voice called out from another hallway.

Jonathan immediately brandished his Undead Killer whip. "Who's there?"

"Relax, it's just me!" came the voice as a familiar winged figure with blood red hair drifted around a nearby corner.

"Oh, its _you_…uhhh…" Jonathan tried in vain to remember the demon girl's name, but nothing came to mind, "Dang it! And I was just telling them that I'm smarter than they give me credit for!"

"It's Scarlet. Nice to see you again my good buffoon."

Jonathan groaned.

"Oh yeah!" Charlotte cried out as she remembered what Scarlet had been doing while she had been gone, "So, did you find anything about Orlok's whereabouts?"

"Yes, for a matter of fact, I have."

"Then where is he? He has to die! Horribly! In a way completely lacking in general human decency!"

"Eeeehehahahaha!" Scarlet cackled diabolically, noticing Charlotte's expression out of the corner of her eye, "Don't do an evil laugh. You'll suck at it. By the way, your tits aren't perky enough for you to pull off the corset look."

"Jonathan finds it cute," Charlotte hissed in a hushed tone, "That's all that matters."

"He'll chase anything with boobs and a skirt," Scarlet hissed back, "Astarte told me everything."

"Ast—_Where is she! I'll slaughter that heathen ancient Egyptian slut!_"

"I'd tell you, but we're gossip buddies. We tell each other everything about the guys we've scored."

"She's a soulless whore, and if you're friends with her so are you!"

"Oh, thank you. Haven't gotten a compliment in ages. It's nice to know I'm doing my job right."

"Goddamn demon…"

"And with a seat reserved in hell. Anyway, I can't get back to doing that job unless I take you to find Orlok, so let's go."

"…Fine," Charlotte conceded.

"Okay, anyway, the buffoon ("Hey!") actually happens to be right. The door leading to the tower actually _is_ up here. Orlok's quarters are on the other side of the tower though, and to get to them you'll need to scale it. I also noticed that there were signs of a demon living in the chamber behind the clock, so you'll want to be prepared once we reach the top."

"I think we can cross that bridge when we come to it," Jonathan assured, "Let's get moving."

They all moved to continue on their way. Alucard on the other hand didn't budge. "I do not cooperate with succubi."

"And why would that be, pretty boy?" Scarlet asked, doing her best to be seductive, ultimately failing when she wretched at the sight of Orlok's face projected on Alucard's body, "Stupid curse… actually, don't tell me, I should know this…"

Scarlet was silent for a few minutes as they stood there, waiting for Alucard to follow. Suddenly, the succubus snapped her fingers above her head triumphantly, "I got it! It's actually family history. My aunt Felicia supposedly disappeared without a trace a little over a hundred years ago. We found out what happened when we read through her personal diary. Her last entry stated that she planned on trying to turn the Dark Lord's son back to the darkness by impersonating his mother and trying to warp his memory of her final moments. Since they never found her body, I take it that she tried the twisted dream approach and was killed there?"

Alucard eyed Scarlet warily, "That is correct. She deserved much worse."

"She wasn't the brightest bulb, I've been told that much, but she was actually dumb enough to risk provoking the son of Dracula? That's just something that should be in a comedy sketch."

Alucard seemed to bristle like an angry cat, though he kept his voice icily calm.

"You think desecrating the last memory of my mother is amusing?"

"No! Not at all! That'd be like signing a death contract. I like desecrating things, but I'm smarter than that. I can see why you look up to her, although if I spent any extended period of time around her, I'm sure that I'd end up killing myself. From what I've been told of Dracula's wife, she was said to have been unparalleled in her kindness and understanding. I'd probably suffocate. Too many positive emotions and all that."

"I would recommend that you cease your insolent chatter before I remove the head that it comes from," Alucard warned, his features darkening.

"I do have to respect her for one thing though: She was utterly fearless. Even as she was looking death in the face she was able to stay calm enough to talk to you. And what she said was so sweet that it's nauseating. 'Don't blame my killers?' It's like she was an angel. I'll stop now."

"A wise choice," the dhampir hissed venomously.

"Look, she was a great person from a human standing point, it's just that she represents almost everything demons like me stand against. Don't make me apologize. My sisters would never let me hear the end of it."

Alucard was silent for a moment.

"Fine," he spat, "I'll follow you. If you try anything, your head will be mounted on a pike outside my tomb."

"I know that you want to discourage visitors anyway, so I'll never let that happen."

She wasn't given the dignity of a response.

"Okay, okay! Let's just _go_ already!"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, they had found the tower entrance and were all making the arduous climb towards its pinnacle.<p>

Maria seemed to have gained new instincts along with her predecessor's memories. She nearly slipped off of several moving platforms, but each time she managed to catch herself before she fell. Jonathan was fairly impressed by her abilities, though for the sake of his pride he stayed silent: She was two levels above him after all. Though he may have been impressed, _she _on the other hand was growing annoyed and sweaty. Why did there have to be such little room between gears? If the spaces were wider, she'd be able to carry everyone to the top in minutes on her dragon. Instead she was stuck scrambling on gears—and so were the rest of them, but that seemed more of an afterthought.

Scarlet was keeping her wings tucked close to her back for the most part. She seemed very frightened of getting them damaged and was therefore choosing not to fly. One of them happened to brush against one of the gears protruding from the wall and she shrieked in terror, earning several annoyed glances, as well as causing Jonathan to stumble and fall flat on his face on a horizontal gear that was slowly but steadily rotating in the middle of the room.

"I'm okay! He called up dizzily. His vision was rotating quickly to the right while the gear was slowly turning left. This only made him nauseous in addition to his dizziness. He decided it would be safer for him if he just lay there for a bit, Charlotte climbed down to check on him and moved his arm so that he could grasp the gear's axle when he was ready to get up.

Alucard was just below them and seemed to be having difficulty. In truth, he just wanted to distance himself from Scarlet. He was forced to pick up the pace when someone realized that he was faking.

"Hey! Alucard! What are you doing all the way down there?" Maria shouted down several levels, "I think I only know this from my 'other' memories, but if her thoughts are anything to go by, you should be leaving us in the dust, I've seen you jump into the second story window of a tall manor house from the ground!"

He sighed inaudibly and resigned himself to the necessity of keeping up with the rest of the group. Following Stella and Loretta, who had been making a team effort to ascend the tower, and had just passed Jonathan's temporarily prone form.

They had all made it into another chamber when the things they were all expecting decided to show up. They let out a collective groan.

"I hate medusa heads," Jonathan growled, staring hatefully at the disembodied-head-monsters.

"And I hate clock towers," Charlotte followed up.

"I hate your wholesomeness, but we'll all just have to move on, so please stop complaining!" Scarlet, who had ignored the creatures and had been in the process of pulling herself up onto a small ledge, had barely finished voicing her grievance when a medusa head flew into her, smacking her in the face and turning her to stone. She toppled noisily to the floor, landing on her back in an awkward position.

"Mrr tmmph rmmm!" she began before breaking out of her stone prison and continuing as though she hadn't even been incomprehensible moments earlier, "to mess with a succubus!" Scarlet leaped into the air and drew her wings around her body, hovering in the air for a moment before spreading them out dramatically, arms raised at her sides.

"_Bloodstorm!_"

The unfamiliar spell's effect was exactly what they were all expecting and fearing it to be, blood raining down in unspeakable torrents. The hunters immediately sought shelter under a rotating gear. Alucard on the other hand seemed to disappear into the bloody mist being sprayed up as the sheets of blood hit the floor.

The group was rather apprehensive about the obviously vampiric magic, but they noticed to their immense relief—or in Stella and Jonathan's cases, slightly maniacal joy—that the medusa heads were dying en mass, falling to the floor and turning to small piles of dust that were immediately saturated with blood.

As the bloody downpour stopped Scarlet ushered them forward towards on of the ledges.

"Hurry, those creepers could be back any second! _Up! Up! Up! Up! Up!_"

"We're moving, sheesh! Seriously, chill out, hot stuff," Jonathan chuckled at his own joke, and much to his surprise, was joined by Stella, Maria and most shockingly, Charlotte. "I am just on a _roll_ today, aren't I?" he said as a very smug look plastered itself to his face. It had no intention of coming off for the next twelve hours, which unfortunately, was reduced by two units of time measurement and then divided by four:

Three seconds later, Scarlet responded.

"I'd cool off," she began in a very arousing sultry tone, "but there's just no way that a eunuch like you could ever hope to heat _me_ back up again."

"Wow…I know some really clever scumbags, but none of them has ever made a comeback that even comes close to that!" Stella remarked, "Can I use that the next time a persistent jerk hits on me?"

"Go ahead. It's yours," Scarlet winked, hopping onto another ledge, "I, Scarlet, hereby bestow this bountiful snarky remark to thee, Stella Lecarde, that you might use it to tear through the self respect of insecure men more effectively than a Jewish mother and destroy their confidence more quickly than a beating from a girl. Use it without discretion and without restraint."

Stella smirked up at the succubus, "I'm not going to lie; that sounded like what I imagine an unholy knighting ceremony would sound like. Also why did you use my last name but not yours?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know what my last name is. You'd end up spending over an hour coming to grips with how blatantly sexual it sounds. That's an hour that we just don't have. Naturally, I treasure every one of its four syllables."

Through this whole exchange Jonathan began to worry that his right eye might have developed a very unattractive twitch. He was quite relieved when it stopped, albeit a whole minute-and-a-half later.

They had already managed to climb to the highest point in the chamber by the time the medusa heads returned. A few of them tried to follow them into the next room and were greeted by a heavy door being swung closed just in time for them to be sent flying like a round of baseballs during batting practice.

Charlotte and Jonathan looked up at the room in relief, but their shared feeling of respite died only moments after it was born to be replaced by overwhelming bewilderment.

"Woah," Jonathan gasped as he stared up at a room that had to be alive, based solely on the fact that there was nothing in the room that _wasn't_ moving. Gears turned in place everywhere, pulleys raised and lowered maintenance platforms and turned conveyer belts, even the walls were changing position, moving outwards to push any thing that might get jammed between gear teeth.

"How are we supposed to get up to the top?" Maria asked, her mouth agape.

"It's actually easier than it looks." Scarlet replied. You just have to look around and find the route that allows passage to the top. I didn't fly through this place, as you already know, so if I can do it while trying to avoid letting my wings touch anything mechanical, you guys shouldn't have a problem."

"You're kidding right?" Charlotte demanded incredulously, "This room cannot be scaled! It's a physical impossibility!"

"That's right, that much is obvious," Scarlet grinned, "and speaking of obvious, can you see that window up there? Its right by that small stationary area near the ceiling."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well," the succubus drawled, the corners of her mouth tilting up mischievously, "You see that other window? The one a few feet away from us to your left with the balcony?"

Any remaining pieces of the puzzle clicked into place in Charlotte's mind, and judging by the facial expressions of her companions, they had figured out what Scarlet's plan was too.

"Please, tell me you're joking," Loretta gasped, "That's insanity!"

"Sure it is," Scarlet replied, "because there are totally no hidden staircases on the outside of the tower that are almost completely safe to walk on and have only a few steps missing."

"Okay, let me see!" Stella demanded, pushing the others out of her way as she stormed over to the window.

"Who was stopping her?" Maria said sarcastically, quickly regaining her balance after being shoved aside.

"Wow; there really _is_ a secret staircase! Go figure."

"You should really see a psychiatrist about your temper," Maria grumbled.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Stella hissed icily.

"Suit yourself."

They all approached the window and one by one set out up the tower stairs. There was no railing and as Scarlet had observed, there were a couple of steps missing, but they weren't particularly narrow either. All in all, they appeared to be relatively safe. That thought had just crossed Stella's mind when she heard a sound like crunching gravel a few feet behind her. She leaped up the next several stairs before whirling around to see what was happening. It seemed like the rest of them had taken similar courses of action, but other than that, their situation wasn't looking any different. And then the stairs beneath Alucard and Jonathan as well as all the ones behind them crumbled.

Charlotte and Maria both shrieked and would have succumbed to panic if Alucard hadn't reacted as quickly as he was able. Jonathan was in freefall, but the dhampir seemed to be in complete control of the situation. Alucard observed how fortunate it was that they had climbed such a good distance or he would only have been able to save himself. Transforming into his giant bat form, he tucked his wings close to his body and dived, managing to get beneath Jonathan in a matter of seconds. He regretted this unfortunate turn of events considering he'd be feeling the impact on his back for several hours, but was pleased that Jonathan was no longer tumbling to a very sticky demise splattered on a roof of his father's castle. He did his best to ascend quickly with the extra weight on his back, and Jonathan wasn't helping too much either by scrambling to get a grip on his fur, but he managed to reach the stairs before Jonathan accidentally fell off.

"You're more slippery than an oily weasel, Morris," Alucard said scornfully as he morphed back into his 'human' form, "You're lucky I managed to keep from dropping you with all of your struggling."

"Well I apologize for panicking when the situation called for it," Jonathan grumbled sarcastically, if not very shakily.

"I do not blame you for panicking. It is a base human instinct; I simply believe you could have tried harder to regain control once I had caught you."

"Well, thanks anyway," Jonathan mumbled, "If it weren't for your quick thinking, I'd probably look like one of the victims of my fly swatter back home–when did we climb so high? I've only counted, like, two or three rooms so far."

"Well, they _were_ very tall rooms," Loretta observed, climbing through the upper window after her sister.

"Yeah, but I'm st—err—whatever, I must not have been paying much attention to the distance considering how much focus it took just to keep my bearings with all the gears and moving platforms."

"There's only one more area to traverse before we get to the top of the tower," Scarlet warned, "be sure you're ready. Don't forget; there's something living up there."

"We've got it," Charlotte assured her.

"Wasn't asking for your opinion, miss ironing board."

"If you just implied that I'm flat, I swear you've got ten seconds to fly away before I burn you to a crisp."

"Good luck with that, and that's for trying to insult my gossip buddy. I'll see you later."

Scarlet hopped out the window and flew towards another tower in the castle. Unfortunately for her, Charlotte could still see her by the time ten seconds was up.

"_Explosion!_"

"Aiiiiieee!" came a cry from outside the tower, "That's cheating!"

"Nope! You just underestimated me!"

"I'll screw you over one of these days! _Ow!_" Scarlet shouted back as she slammed into the roofs below.

"Maybe, but round one goes to Charlotte!" the young witch shouted from her perch on the balcony, watching with amusement as Scarlet painfully stood back up.

"I challenge you…to a duel!…" she stumbled, shaking ashes off of her wings, "Just as soon…as I…peel off all the dead skin!"

"I look forward to winning!" Charlotte didn't wait for the succubus to respond before climbing through the window.

"Hey, Jonathan," she looked up a her fellow hunter shyly, "you don't think I'm flat…do you?"

Jonathan felt his ears burn up and could imagine that he had just developed the complexion of a ripe tomato.

"You can look."

Her permission wasn't helping very much.

"_You have a positively voluptuous figure and the corset actually looks really sexy on you_," Jonathan stammered, "Uhh, I gotta go," he ran off, red in the face.

She grinned, feeling extremely pleased with herself and just a tiny bit relieved that the demon really was lying. _'He is so _cute_ when he blushes like that,'_ she thought.

She got a slightly mischievous idea and put it into action before following him along with the rest of the group, making sure to lag behind him just enough for him to notice.

Jonathan was just checking up on her progress when he noticed it. He could see a lot more of her breasts than he could before. Maybe he was imagining it…

Wait…no he wasn't imagining it. He could practically see the parts that were _especially_ taboo, and the uncomfortable bulge in his pants wasn't doing anything to help disprove that.

'_Did she undo the top laces on her corset!_' he thought, choking a little, _'What the hell is _with_ her lately?'_

He hurriedly jumped onto a moving platform and with the images still fresh in his mind, he lost his focus and misjudged the distance between himself and the platform. He ended up crashing into it and having it knock the wind out of him. He fell a few feet before being spun off of a quickly rotating gear, bouncing off a stone wall, and landing hard on the floor.

"Jonathan! Are you alright?" Charlotte called down worriedly, beginning to backtrack.

"No need to come down," he groaned, "I'll be fine."

Slowly he got back up and used a potion on himself, before completing the arduous journey to the pinnacle.

* * *

><p>As they entered the clock chamber, everyone in their group felt the presence of something else watching them. It was ominous, though they didn't feel particularly threatened yet.<p>

"Who art thou who wouldst disturb me in my own sanctuary," boomed a dramatic voice, echoing around the chamber.

Jonathan replied intelligently with a similar question: "Who just said that?"

Charlotte dragged a hand over her face.

The air in front of them grew distorted and moments later they all stood in the gaze of a flying armor knight like none they had ever seen. His armor was deep crimson instead of the usual silver, and his cape looked like the night sky itself. He carried two swords, or rather, he had two huge bronze swords floating on either side of him.

I rarely get visitors. It matters not what hath brought thee to this place. All who enter my domain must die in combat against me. You may call me by the name Geist. Remember it well, for it is the last you will ever hear."

"You're pretty confident in your abilities aren't you? What happens if we don't feel like being killed?" Jonathan glared at the floating warrior.

"Should that be the case, thou must fight back. I have not met a worthy opponent in some time, so try to make this last."

"And if we beat you?" Jonathan demanded.

"You needn't ask that question, as there is no chance of victory for any of you. Now die!" that said, Geist crossed his arms over his chest and both of swords shot forward, forcing Stella and Jonathan to dive out of the way to avoid being impaled.

Jonathan smirked, hefting up the Balmung. "You don't even need to make an effort to swing those things around, do you? Well, I guess I'll just have to cut you until you can't even think."

He took a swipe at the demonic fighter with the dragon slaying sword just as Alucard rushed up with Ascalon.

"That shall be enough interference from outsiders, thank you," Geist hissed darkly. Unfolding his arms, he spread them out to his sides and raised them above his head, summoning a barrier separating Jonathan, Stella and Alucard from the rest of their group.

Unfortunately, this also left him open as Alucard brought the heavy blade of the Ascalon down on top of him. He dashed backwards out of the range of the huge sword and brought his swords in, to his sides, spinning them like saw blades. Stella was immediately sent flying before she could so much as land a hit. Jonathan was forced to move into the defensive in order not to get sliced into pieces. He barely avoid being cut in half lengthwise as the two deadly swords stopped spinning and slammed down on top of the space where he had stood moments earlier. Geist continued pursuing him, sending both blades flying horizontally in opposite directions nearly cutting him in half again at the waist.

He was only forced to stop attacking when Stella recovered, approaching him from behind and wielding Kaladbolg in a reverse grip. She spun around and jammed both of her swords into his armor. Kaladbolg went in first and then she followed up by stabbing him with Burtgang. Despite the weight of the armor, she managed to toss Geist into a wall.

"Why you…" he growled. He quickly put his swords into an orbit around himself and flew forwards, slashing Stella and tossing Alucard aside. Once again however he was left open, this time from above. Jonathan came down fast and struck him downside the head, causing Geist's swords to fall out of their orbit, which in turn gave Alucard the opportunity to hack at him with a combination strike from the Ascalon. Unfortunately, the demonic knight managed to counter the strike more than effectively. Both swords twirled in a deadly upwards spiral, hooking themselves around Ascalon's blades and knocking it out of Alucard's hands. He watched in bewilderment as the great dragon slaying sword was carried out of his hands and thrown through the glass of the clock face. Alucard didn't miss a beat, much to Geist's disappointment, drawing the famous Alucard Sword and leaped backwards.

"_Hellfire!_" he shouted as he landed. Alucard disappeared in a beam in light. Geist looked around for the powerful son of Dracula, distracted by the name of one of the lord of the castle's more famous abilities.

This proved to be a mistake as both Stella and Jonathan hopped up in front of him and slashed at him with their swords. There was a noise like a thunderclap behind him and he raised his swords in front of him too late to block the three fireballs shooting towards him. Alucard stood behind him, lowering his cape.

"Thou art indeed powerful," Geist bellowed, "However, thou art not nearly prepared for my true abilities."

"Wanna bet?" Stella, grinned confidently, she disappeared momentarily reappearing right in front of him.

"_Secret Strike! Furious Wave!_"

The slash was followed up by a buffeting gale-force wind that actually knocked the demon through the glass clock.

"I think I've perfected it," Stella chuckled darkly.

"Thou shalt die first!" Geist crossed his arms and put his swords into a furious orbit around himself, his swords spun around him in a terrifying pattern like electrons circling an atom's nucleus. He shot forwards, barreling through Jonathan in the process of going after Stella. However she disappeared from sight before the twirling blades so much as grazed her.

"_Secret Strike: Ars Arcanum!_"

Stella reappeared beside Geist and slashed at him before seeming to disappear again reappearing on his other side. She kept repeating this process at different angles for a total of thirteen slashes in the course of the same number of seconds.

Geist collapsed, falling to the ground. He had barely managed to get up before both Alucard and Jonathan impaled him on their swords.

There was a sound like someone coughing up blood, though the armor remained unchanged.

"How…how couldst a band of humans and a half-breed…have defeated me?"

"Because we're professionals," Jonathan grinned. He gave Alucard a glance and they both pulled their swords out of the demonic knight's back, pulling Geist's dying body with them ever so slightly.

"Perhaps I was overconfident… Nevertheless…thy victory was fair and just… Thou may passeth beyond this point. Thou were…a most worthy challenge," Geist coughed out. As he spoke, a faint breeze made itself known through the holes in the clock.

"Thanks, I guess, although we weren't really asking your permission to leave," Stella responded."

"Girl… Thou wieldst thine…blades with…a mastery I hath never encountered… Once you pass through this tower…thou shall find a pair of most legendary blades…hidden beyond a wall…emblazoned with a symbol of great fortune… They once belonged to a tempestuous warrior…most like thyself… Take them… They shall turn the winds of luck…in thy favor…"

"Really?" Stella mused. A look of determination came over her and she knelt down to eye level with the fallen warrior. "Well then, thank you Geist. You were a powerful opponent. You fought will honor and passion that I've never seen before either. I hope you find peace someday."

She waited, wondering if the demonic knight would respond. However, the barrier separating them from their friends faded, as did the flying armor lord's life and armor encased body. Even as she stood back up to greet her companions, she could have sworn that she heard a voice upon the wind.

"_Farewell…_"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I liked the Flying Armor boss at the beginning of Dawn of Sorrow, so I decided I'd need to have one in my story. Anyway, this was originally going to be two chapters, but I felt that they would be too short on their own, and considering how long I made you wait for Chapter 14, that just wouldn't be right. In any case, I really hope that this lived up to your standards. I also hope that I can get a new keyboard soon, considering that my 'E' key has broken and every time I need to use an 'e,' it bugs up and I need to press it several times. As fellow writers, you must realize that it is the single most frequently used letter in the English language, even more than 'S.' It's been a real pain. But enough about my problems. By now you've probably noticed that I've been borrowing attacks from other games. Is this irritating anyone? Because if it is, I'm all for going back and changing stuff. However, despite Ars Arcanum being from Kingdom Hearts, there <em>is<em> a reason that I used it: Ars Arcanum loosely translates into 'secret strike,' which as you know by now, is one of Stella's attacks from Portrait of Ruin. Thank you Sound Test for revealing her attack names. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for reading. Please review, and have a nice day/evening.**


	16. Chapter XVI: Orlok the Hideous

**Chapter XVI**

**Orlok the Hideous**

* * *

><p>After the group had reunited they were on their way to the next room in the tower, which they were hoping would lead down, when they were interrupted by a now familiar voice.<p>

"Seriously, where are you even going?" You can't find the place I'm taking you without me," Scarlet grumbled, flying in through a window.

"Well, technically we can, it'll just take us longer," Jonathan said pointedly.

"You have a valid point, moron. I'm also going to ignore it entirely."

"Are you _ever_ going to stop calling me stupid?"

"Not in the foreseeable future, I don't think."

"You are just a pleasure to be around, you know that?" Jonathan grumbled sarcastically.

"In more than one way. But not until I can think dirty thoughts again without getting turned off."

"Don't remind me. You're outta here once Orlok's head implodes."

"Fine," Scarlet pouted, "Spoilsport. Although I _do_ like the thought of his head imploding."

"Unfortunately, and I mean _very_ unfortunately," Charlotte emphasized, "I'm pretty sure that there aren't any spells that actually _do_ that."

"Then just create one! I thought that you were gifted!"

"To answer your question, creating a spell takes months of figuring out the right energy formula, weeks of planning, and days preparing if you want it done correctly. Even then, they can _still_ take years to perfect. If you make a mistake, it's not a guarantee that you'll get a second chance. You might be trying to develop a hex that can open boxes. Possible disasters that could occur without calculating the balance of energy in that scenario could be that the spell would end up splitting you in half, thereby opening _you_ up, causing a huge earthquake, opening a gorge, or even turning you inside out. But more to the point, how the hell do you know I'm gifted?"

"I'd tell you but you'd feel violated beyond your comprehension."

"Figures," Charlotte groaned, "but are we at least close to Orlok's quarters?"

"We're close enough. We just have to follow this hallway for a bit."

It was a little while before anyone said anything again. In that time they had taken a mechanized lift down to the lower levels of the tower, and continued down an adjoining hallway that sloped downward steeply. The castle's walls had a strange design here. The dull grey and black bricks were standard issue instead of the usual masonry. The overall atmosphere was quite gloomy.

They were traversing on such corridor when six armored skeletons wearing green armor flipped down from the ceiling with acrobatic precision. All of them carried a short sword in each hand. Maria was nearly paralyzed in trepidation, a position of which two skeletons took full advantage.

"Maria! Duck!"

Charlotte's voice barely snapped her out of her shock and she crouched down just in time to avoid having her head removed from her shoulders by the unforgiving swords the pair of offending skeletons carried.

Both skeletons landed nimbly and flipped around to face Maria again, but by this time, Alucard and Maria were standing on either side of her.

"You have to be more careful," Charlotte said irritably, not taking her eyes of the monster strafing around them, "Skeleton blazes are agile, and they don't hesitate for a second before going in for a kill."

"B-but those skulls!"

"I know you're afraid of skeletons, but you can't let your fear overcome you in these situations."

"Your friend makes an astute observation," Alucard agreed, fending off a blow as the other skeleton blaze leaped towards him and slashed down with both swords. It only succeeded in getting itself tossed into a wall before it landed. "It is important that you never let fear rule you. And even if you cannot overcome your fears, you must at the very least call for help instead of cowering.

Jonathan was trying his best to ward off both the skeleton that was attacking him and the one that was trying to approach Loretta. Balmung shattered both attacking parties into individual bones with one massive stroke.

Charlotte had her hands full. She had dealt with the first skeleton blaze easily enough with a blast of her powered up Raging Fire spell, which worked out particularly well when she saw a light shoot out of the skeleton's body and fly into her book of binding. Flipping through the book found her new spell.

"We just got '_speed up_' back, Jonathan!" she called getting a thumbs up in approval as Jonathan avoided a combination attack from the skeletal assassin. The next skeleton was being much more cautious than the first. Charlotte didn't have enough energy to cast Explosion or Chain Lightning either, so she couldn't just go for a direct attack. She decided that she needed to use a different approach. Alucard had already disposed of the other skeleton that had threatened Maria and was rushing over towards her. As it happened, he was no longer needed, as Charlotte opened a large book, causing an armory's worth of weapons to burst forth from its pages and shred the last skeleton blaze. Pieces of bone littered the floor in macabre piles all around them. Maria shuddered and ran off a bit further ahead as to get away from the bones. Thinking it would catch her by surprise, a dogether materialized in front of her. It failed disastrously.

"You again? I thought I—whatever, doesn't matter. _Doves of the Heart!_"

Her spectral doves spiraled up around her and assaulted the cyclopean creature repeatedly until it seemed to melt and evaporate, just like the once she had defeated previously.

The monsters in the area just seemed to love their punishment, considering that an alura une blossomed out of the bricks in front of her. She never even got around to whipping Maria with her roots. And Maria didn't even attack.

"_I am in no mood!_" she growled furiously, "And put a shirt on you skank!"

The dryad-like creature gaped at her.

"You're so mean!" she sobbed before disappearing back into her flower.

"Well now that our terrifying reincarnation has saved us all that trouble, let's get going," Scarlet commanded.

Who died and made you the boss?" Jonathan asked her sarcastically.

"Nobody," Scarlet cooed seductively, "but that _can_ be arranged," she brought a clawed fingernail up to his throat. Before she could even trace her nail along his jaw line she collapsed and began retching.

"Okay, lead the way Scarlet," Charlotte went to help the sickened demon to her feet.

"We keep going this way then we turn. There's a guard posted nearby so be careful."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Jonathan smirked. He turned a corner, coming face to face, or more accurately, face to chest, with a psychotic-looking minotaur. Its eyes were bloodshot, it was hyperventilating and it was frothing at the mouth.

"You've had your shots right?" Scarlet asked.

"Don't tell me…" Jonathan groaned.

"Oh don't worry, it doesn't have rabies."

"Oh, well that's a plus I guess."

"No, it's _much_ worse than that."

"Okay, what's his problem then?"

"_Demon_ rabies. If he bites you, and he will, you'll have between five and ten seconds to think coherently before you start drooling and biting your friends."

"Fabulous," Jonathan groaned, "Charlotte, barbeque it."

"Sure. _Explosion!_"

The bullheaded creature went up in flames for a few moments before becoming visible again. Its red skin was now black, and the froth from its mouth had mostly evaporated.

"Let's not take any chances," Jonathan said, more to himself than anyone. He raised his sword and beheaded it. It didn't bleed. Not normally at least. From the lethal wound sprang not blood, but coppery smelling red gas.

"Charlotte, you may have overcooked him, his blood had evaporated."

"I can see that."

"Doesn't matter, we're just about at Orlok's quarters. Once we go through this door we take a staircase down and go through the door at the end of it. He should be there bragging to his friends about how powerful he is."

"He has friends?" Charlotte gasped incredulously.

"Not really, just a swarm of rats that enjoy his fetid stench. He thinks that he understands what they're saying by their squeaks. I can actually tell what they're saying because of a few demonic studies that I did before I hit puberty. They think he was dropped on his head as a young child. Repeatedly."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that really were the case," Jonathan chuckled, "I mean Charlotte burned him to a crisp and electrocuted him and he managed to think I was casting even though the magical energy was manifesting itself around her."

"Sounds just like him."

They proceeded through the now unguarded door and walked down the long spiral staircase.

"Aren't we right under…?" Jonathan muttered to himself nervously.

"What was that, Jonathan," Charlotte asked.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Jonathan said evasively.

"Come on Charlotte," Stella giggled, "If it's going through his head, it probably isn't worth knowing. Or it's obvious."

Charlotte looked puzzled for a moment before responding.

"You're probably right."

Jonathan sighed in resignation.

"Believe whatever you want."

"I will thank you," Stella giggled cheekily.

They came to the bottom of the stairs, facing a huge ornately decorated door.

"Here we are," Scarlet said contemptuously, "through this door is the single most spineless, pathetic bastard to ever defile Earth, Heaven, or Hell. Let's kill him."

"Agreed," Charlotte said viciously. She proceeded by making the door explode.

"Vaht are you _doing!_" Orlok shouted, springing up clumsily from his easy chair in the middle of the room and glaring at Jonathan, "How _dare_ you vahndalize my _chamber_ you wretched boy!" he was still dressed in the ragged brown trench coat and his face was as ugly as it had been the first time they met. The room they were in was huge, with a high ceiling and two rows of pillars that stretched to meet arches in the ceiling. Two extra pillars also reached between the rows up to the chamber ceiling, designed to look like they spiraled down from rthe center of the arches they stood beneath. The hunters currently stood in an area cut away from the wall that more like an afterthought in the architecture than an actual part of the chamber.

"_I'm the caster here you misogynistic bastard!_" Charlotte roared.

"No _voman_ can cast _magics_! How _dare_ you qvestion my _eenteligence_!"

"Miss Aulin, I'm afraid that I'll have to ask you to give up on convincing him," Alucard grumbled, "This senile old fool lacks the mental capacity required for reasonable thought."

"How _dare_ you call me senile, eenfant!"

"Uh, you do realize you've said 'how dare you,' like, three times in the past thirty seconds, right?" Stella asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As a voman you have no _right_ to qvestion me. _Learn_ your _place_!"

"Wow, how far has his dementia reached?" Loretta asked pityingly.

"Take a guess," Stella suggested sarcastically.

"You _eensolent_ brats!" Orlok snarled, an air of righteous anger sweeping over him, "I _see_ now that I must teach you a _lesson_ in respecting your _betters_."

"Okay, if we meet any opponent who's better than us, we'll be sure to show him the proper respect," Stella agreed daringly, "Although I can't see anyone here worthy of any such thing."

"Audacious _vench_! I shall _keell_ you!"

"Audacious what?" Scarlet smirked at Orlok provocatively, "Audacious bench? Audacious wrench? Your accent is too thick to understand."

"Vhy vould _you_ say such a theeng dahrleeng?"

"I'm not in love with you dammit, you disgusting troglodyte! You don't know anything about magic at all! That 'charm' you put on me makes your face appear on anyone I try to seduce! It's been a nightmare! And now, I'm coming to collect. Me and the witch here will be immolating you in a moment. I just want you to know who was killing you."

"_How_ cood you possibly find somevone as _handsome_ as myself deesgusteeng?"

"Because you're not handsome: you're probably the most hideous creature I've ever laid eyes on," Scarlet fumed.

"_Vhy_ vould you _lie_ to me so _blatantly_, love?"

"You braindead idiot! Get it through your thick skull that I despise you with every fiber of my being! You make me sick! And putting that 'charm' on me was your signature for your death warrant!"

"Maria," Alucard said with a rare smile, "about one hundred and fifty years ago, I actually cut this vampire into six pieces. Can you believe that he doesn't remember me?"

"Well actually, based on his behavior, I'd be surprised if he _did_."

"Well said."

"I do not understand your deeslike of me, my dahrleeng," Orlok observed with genuine befuddlement.

"Let me put this in a way that you might partially understand," Scarlet hissed. She held her breath and rushed up to him and slashed him in the throat with one hand and impaled in with the other.

"_Who_ are you _really_, for you _certainly_ are not my beloved?"

"Someone, just kill me. Alucard, whatever it was you did to finish off my aunt, just do it to me right now."

Alucard didn't actually do anything, but he was surprised by her apparent death wish.

"You know what, Orlok? I'll try that again, however I'll make it more painful this time. Of course since women apparently can't cast magic, this'll probably be lost on you, but I still want to hurt you."

Scarlet spread her wings and held her hands out in front of her.

"_Bloody Pleasure!_"

Two thick jets of blood shot forth from Scarlet's hands, one blasting him in the stomach and the other engulfing his mouth and nose, effectively waterboarding him. Slowly, Orlok collapsed to his hands and knees. About a minute later, the jets stopped, and Orlok got to his feet, glaring furiously not at Scarlet, but Jonathan.

"_That_ ees the last _straw _you _fooleesh_ boy!" Orlok roared, "_Prepare_ to _die_!"

"Bring it on, Count Idiot!" Scarlet giggled maliciously.

Maria summoned her doves and Alucard rushed forward, his heirloom sword drawn. She immediately sent them after Orlok as Alucard slashed at him viciously.

Scarlet continued to cast blood magic as Charlotte flipped through a variety of spells. Jonathan opted to use the Undead Killer Whip.

Stella decided to draw herself away from the fight and search for the swords mentioned by Geist. Searching the walls for a symbol of good fortune while Loretta covered her.

"_Piercing Beam!_" Charlotte shouted, a huge ray of light bursting forth from her hand and burning Orlok who shrieked in pain upon contact with the positive energy. Of course this prompted him to attack Jonathan, rather than his real attacker. Which was twice as much of a folly considering that he couldn't even get close to Jonathan without getting lashed by the Undead Killer.

"Thees ees tiresome! I shall use much greater power now!"

With that, Orlok transformed into a swarm of bats and began flying around the chamber. Despite the apparent harmlessness of the maneuver, it was anything but. The bats opened their moths and began firing bolts of unholy energy in every direction. Everyone except for the Lecarde sisters scrambled to take cover behind the numerous pillars in the room. Regrouping into his humanoid form, Orlok charged at Jonathan and slashed him in the arm before transforming into a swarm of bats. Charlotte however took that opportunity to charge a spell.

"_Chain Lightning!_" Charlotte declared her spell confidently. A bolt of lightning hit one of the bats and Orlok was about to gloat at Jonathan's incompetent casting when the lightning bolt continued from the first bat, on to a second and then a third, hitting each bat in his body's swarm until he lay in a steaming pile with the rest of them, and was forced to revert to his human form.

"You are _fools_ to theenk that you can _defeat_ me!" he said smugly, even as he patted out a small fire that had erupted on his trench coat. His hands then were engulfed by thick clouds of darkness. He shakily began to float in the air, with several bats flying down from the ceiling to follow him like a tattered cloak. He aimed his arms at Alucard and shot a barrage of negative energy at him. Alucard deftly avoided the attack and slashed Orlok several times. Scarlet noticed that his back was turned to her and snatched the opportunity to cast a spell on herself.

"_Claws of Blood!_"

Her hands turned to crimson talons as she leaped up and slashed at Orlok, laughing as he yelped in pain.

Meanwhile, Stella finally found what she was looking for: Three 7s engraved on the wall above a dragon's head. Its mouth was open, like it was waiting to have something offered to it.

"That seems like a lucky sign enough for me," she chirped lightly.

If this is anything like the ones in the previous castle, I'll need to deposit seven hundred and seventy seven dollars to pass through here. I think…"

"You may as well try it, sister," Loretta encouraged, "We've earned a lot of money from killing monsters in the castle."

"True. So should we just place the coins in here?" Stella asked, pointing at the dragon's mouth.

"That _is_ what it looks like."

"Alright, let's do it."

Stella tossed the necessary Castlvanian coins into the statue's mouth and watched with satisfaction as the wall vanished before their eyes revealing a short hallway.

"Shall we?" Stella asked.

"Do you think that they can handle him on their own?" Loretta returned worriedly.

"They seem to be doing fine," Stella confirmed, watching as Jonathan snagged his whip around Orlok's neck.

"Let's end this!" he smirked.

He gave the whip a sharp tug, and the vampire's neck broke with a sickening crunch.

Charlotte ran up to the vampire's body and kicked him sharply in the head. Orlok didn't react.

"He's dead," she said cheerfully.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Alucard said warily, cautiously approaching the body, "Vampires tend to have an internal defense mechanism."

"That's right," Jonathan observed recalling his and Charlotte's battle against Dracula. He had transformed into a giant demon, "Oh, so is that what was happening when you transformed into that gargoyle thing?"

"More or less."

"How _dare_ you attack me, you _fooleesh_ humans!"

"Not good!" Jonathan shouted as the supposedly dead body of Count Orlok lurched to its feet. He, Charlotte and Scarlet managed to move out of the way as the grotesque Count's flesh seemed to boil.

Orlok began to grow taller, increasing in size by over two-and-a-half meters, and his mutating skin began to take on a sickly bright green color. Five-inch claws sprouted from his gnarled fingers and his head began to resemble a creature that might have come into being if someone crossed a human with a toad. That is if the toad had several rows of razor sharp teeth.

While the other three companions who had been standing close to Orlok had had managed to get out of the way, Alucard wasn't so lucky. The beast that Orlok had become raised a massive clawed hand and sent Alucard flying head first into a wall, knocking him out instantly.

"Alucard! Are you alr—" Maria mad a move as if to try and run up to check on Alucard but Orlok lurched forward and blocked her, forcing her back a few paces to avoid getting swatted. She summoned her doves again and sent them after the grotesque creature, but getting no results.

"This is bad."

* * *

><p>"Stella, what are these?" Loretta asked looking in awe at the pair of swords in the pedestal at the far end of the hallway.<p>

"Those are some fascinating weapons, I can tell you that," the older sister responded, taking in the majesty of the swords. One was a pale green, the color of the first leaves of springtime, and even in its inactive state, it seemed as though it was cutting through the air and drawing in the wind. The second was a stunning golden sword that was thrilling Stella just to look at. It had a pair of rubies encrusted in its hilt, the first at the base of the pommel and the second in its guard that separated the hilt from the blade.

"Well, let's try these out," Stella said with poise, stepping up to the pedestal, "What are you two called anyway?" she searched for anything that might provide a hint, quickly finding a pair of inscriptions in front of the swords.

In front of the green sword was written:

_I am the wind that buffets your enemies, that blows the tempests of battle in your favor._

_Valmanway_

And before the golden sword:

_I am the luck that your enemies lack, that gives you the advantage in battle._

_Joyeuse_

"Let's see how well these new toys work."

* * *

><p>Jonathan dug into his bag for the Vampire Killer.<p>

'_I'd really rather not us this, but I'm thinking that I'm going to need this if I don't want to die right here_.'

He dashed towards Orlok and swung the whip with all his might. The abomination roared but didn't even recoil.

"How much punishment can he take?" he gasped incredulously, "He might have been a raving lunatic but he's a lot more powerful than we gave him credit—_Urgh!_" Orlok swatted him into one of the two centered pillars that were placed between the two main rows of columns. Which is when he noticed something that he found very interesting.

"What did we miss?" Stella shouted from an adjacent hallway that he hadn't noticed earlier.

"Where have you been! Look what's happened while you decided to go running off on your own!" Jonathan shouted, pointing at the gangly form Orlok had taken.

"What the hell _is_ that monstrosity?"

"It's Orlok! He transformed into it just before we killed him," Charlotte groaned, "Well actually, we thought we had _already_ killed him and _then_ he transformed into the Creature From the Black Lagoon."

"Well, I think I can take him a little more seriously now that he isn't quite as ugly."

"I agree, it _is_ an improvement," Scarlet said appraisingly, nodding slowly.

Orlok lurched towards the three girls and swiped at them, sending them flying backwards just in time for Loretta to emerge from the hallway that Stella had come from.

"Sister are you alright?" she yelped before realizing that Stella hadn't taken any lasting damage.

"I'm fine, but keep your distance. You're not going take too well to an attack like that."

"Understood!"

Stella leaped to her feet and disappeared for a few moments before reappearing behind Orlok.

"_Secret Strike! Furious Wave!_"

Instead of producing a gale, Valmanway unleashed a blast of air that was nothing short of a hurricane. The creature held its arms up over its face and was pushed back a few yards, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

"What the hell!" Stella shouted in outrage, "That could have killed an elephant! How is he still standing?"

"I've used all of my spells against him at last once," Charlotte grumbled, "We're hurting him, but only marginally. Maria's been able to distract him with her doves from time to time, but she's not able to do much either. She doesn't want to use her dragon because she's worried it'll be hurt more than Orlok if it bites him. And honestly I wouldn't be surprised."

"How's Alucard doing?" Loretta asked, wondering why Charlotte hadn't mentioned him.

"He was taken by surprise and was knocked out."

"Well, I can safely say that we are all dead meat," Stella, snarled in frustration.

Charlotte ran over to Jonathan who was lashing out furiously at Orlok with the Vampire Killer, "Get your knives ready!"

"What? Oh! I'm ready when you are."

"Good. Let's get some range on it," Charlotte rushed to the other side of the chamber, Jonathan in tow.

"_Dual Crush! Thousand Blades!_" they shouted in unison, throwing a barrage of knives through Charlotte's spell, multiplying them tenfold, and hitting Orlok doing minimal damage, not even eliciting a roar from the grotesque creature. It did however turn to face them and began approaching them at a steady pace.

Charlotte refused to hesitate for a second before casting again.

"_Piercing Beam!_"

No effect.

"_Summon Medusa!_"

Orlok didn't stop moving.

"Charlotte?" Jonathan worriedly tried interrupting her.

"_Explosion!_"

No visible signs of major discomfort.

"Charlotte! Calm down!" Jonathan ordered, grabbing her by the arms, "You're just going to end up hurting yourself!"

"I-I just can't figure it out! How can we even beat this thing? It's invincible!" Charlotte cried in anguish. The strength in her legs left her and she slid to the floor in defeat. This was all too much for her, both physically and mentally.

"Wait a minute…" Jonathan muttered. "We went around in a circle to get here didn't we? From the gallery where Camilla told us that the tower would collapse on, we'd have had to go in a circle to get from there to here. We're definitely directly under that room, there're no other possibilities! I've worked it all out!"

"But how does that help us?" Charlotte asked wearily.

"Well, the Ruined Gallery wasn't architecturally sound. It's precariously delicate."

"And!"

"Haven't you noticed Char? Look at the pillars in this room! See those two sticking out there. All the rest are perfectly aligned with each other, but those two are closer to each other and they're clearly not aligned with the rest of them. Because they're still aligned with each other, a casual observer would still think they're part of the overall artistic structure, but when ugly over there knocked me into that pillar, I noticed that it was actually thicker than the other one. And that means that those two pillars are like the keystones supporting this room! Even if we destroyed all the other pillars in here, the ceiling would be severely strained, but it would still hold. But if we take down even one of those, the entire tower will come down on top of us! And the best part is that the entrance of this room is part of the tunnels and isn't part of the tower structure!"

The soundness of his plan hit her like a train and her jaw dropped.

"Wait do you mean that if we hide beneath the overhang and hit one of those pillars with a few explosions, the whole tower will collapse, killing him and saving us? And you figured that out on your own?"

"Yeah. Nothing too special about it."

Charlotte's throat dried up.

"That's utterly _ingenious!_"

"Really? Thanks! I never thought I'd _ever_ hear you say _that_ to me."

"You're fun _and_ you're brilliant! Where have you been hiding that intellect from me for all these years?"

"I just studied what interested me."

"Jonathan, you're an architectural genius!"

"Not nearly! I still only understand the basics. What I just explained is the only bit of the more complex stuff that I can remember regularly."

"I, uh…I know that I said this a while back, but I really mean it this time."

"Huh?" Jonathan responded obliviously. Before he could try to elaborate on whatever he might have been thinking, Charlotte stood op on her toes and pressed her lips against his, silencing whatever he might have been about to say, as well as most of his brain activity. He was too stunned even to kiss her back. For nearly a minute she explored the inside of his mouth with her tongue. When did she learn to kiss like that? Had she been seeing a guy he didn't know about? Something about that possibility irked him and he was beginning to figure out why. All too soon she broke away. She was blushing, but was still beaming radiantly. Until a terrible thought crossed her mind; "I _really_ hope you don't still think of me like your kid sister, because if you do, I just did something that could get me sent to Hell with no hope of redemption in the eyes of most Roman Catholic authorities. And would definitely get me disowned by my extremely orthodox family."

Jonathan shook his head.

"You already told me you loved me. Not to mention that I had to drastically readjust my viewpoint on our relationship the moment I saw that outfit on you."

"That can easily be misunderstood…what are you saying though?"

Jonathan blanched.

"…I don't really know. I'm having a lot of trouble figuring that out."

"By the way, I apologize for the awful kiss."

"No, that was…incredible…especially for your first."

Charlotte blushed furiously, "Th-that wasn't–it was just—!…" she stammered a few more times before her ego deflated from the pressure, "Okay it was."

Jonathan released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "I would have enjoyed it more, but Orlok's getting way too close for comfort and if we don't kill him–I mean _it_– now, we won't get another chance."

Charlotte blinked and looked away for a moment. She took a breath and ran a hand through her hair, calming herself down before she gathered up her resolve and extended her hand up towards her partner, "Right. Help me up."

"You got it," Jonathan took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She had the Book of Binding open to _Explosion_ immediately.

"Time to bring on the pain ratface!"

"Oh, Hell…what'd I miss?" Scarlet lifted her head from the ground groggily.

"A lot, but the ugly green freak over there is about to die horribly."

"Oh, thank gods…I can't stand having to think of that…that…_thing_ whenever I think anything sexual." Oddly enough it was Jonathan who noticed what was off about that statement first.

"Wait, you just said 'thank _gods_.' Isn't that like mortal blasphemy for a demon like you?"

"Keyword: gods. I can pray to all the pagan gods I want! As long as I don't offer up a prayer to any of the Holy Trinity, Allah or…how do you pronounce the Jewish name for God? It's spelled, Yuud Hay Vavv Hay…so why am I thinking Adonai?…whatever."

"Suit yourself," Charlotte mused, "Alright, time to die Slimeball!"

"_Explosion!"_

The blast hit the thicker of the two pillars, destroying it entirely, and for a moment nothing seemed to happen. Then they heard something groan.

"Everyone, under here, quick!" Jonathan demanded, grabbing Charlotte's arm and practically dragging her under the ledge. Stella, Loretta and Maria followed his lead, and Scarlet dived for cover as a chunk of rock nearly fell on her.

There was the grating sound of stone against stone but the groaning of the strained structural support was quickly drowning it out. There was a loud crash as the tower above them began to topple inwards upon itself. More chunks of stone began falling from the high ceiling, and were soon followed by bricks and mortar. And then all hell broke loose, the ceiling caved in on itself and they could see what little remained of the gallery, tumbling into the room. Then Maria screamed.

"Alucard! He's not with us!"

"What!" Jonathan gasped, how's that even—Oh God…I forgot, he got knocked out by Orlok just after he transformed!"

"_No!_ We have to help him!" she got up and made to run back into the chamber, but Charlotte grabbed her, hooking her own arms under Maria's.

"No way, you'll get yourself killed if you try looking for him now! I don't want to explain to your mom and dad that you died in a collapsing building trying to rescue what they'll think was an imaginary friend."

The stones continued falling and by this point were nearly cutting them off from the rest of the chamber.

"I can't just leave—"

"You can't help him now!"

"Alucard!"

"He's already dead!"

"_No!_"

They heard the monster that was Orlok roar in agony as he was buffeted entire sections of wall from the tower's wreckage. Or maybe they were parts of the floors. Gears and various mechanical devices tumbled from the already huge, and still growing hole in the ceiling. He continued roaring until there was a sickening crunch. And then the only noise was the sound of the remains of the tower continuing to fall.

"He's dead…Alucard's dead…" Maria sobbed.

"The irony kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. How could you guys have killed him by accident where my aunt failed despite her best efforts? Cruel world…"

"You really aren't helping, you jerk," Stella scolded the succubus.

The last of the rocks fell into the chamber and the dust finally settled. Sending a fine mist blowing through the spaces between the rubble.

"Well, at least that S.O.B. Orlok is dead."

"But so is Alucard…" Maria choked as bile filled her mouth.

Someone coughed from behind them.

"…Ungh…Not just…yet…" They all turned around in stunned silence as they saw what they had thought was dust reforming into Alucard's body, slumped against the wall.

Nobody said anything. They all just stared, mouths agape at the dhampir and his uncanny survival.

The pressure finally took its toll on Maria and she fainted in Charlotte's arms, her head lolling forward from her restrained position and her legs giving out from under her, forcing her captor to struggle to lower her to the floor gently before she slid out of her grasp.

"How did you survive that?" Stella asked, completely flabbergasted, "An entire building collapsed on top of you!"

"I do not…think it is essential…for me to explain myself."

Loretta gave him a pointed look, "My sister's question is perfectly valid, Alucard. We don't really care how important it is, it's just that your survival of this incident has to be the most unlikely thing that we've ever seen happen."

"More like the most unlikely thing that has ever happened in general," Stella chided.

"Besides, this knowledge could come in handy later on," Loretta finished.

"I am alive. The details are…not necessary."

"Look, he'll never tell you, so I think that _I_ will," Scarlet drawled, "You see, vampires can take on a variety of shapes to move around undetected. These forms aren't restricted to living creatures either; I've already seen that he can turn into a bat, and from what I know, it isn't much harder to turn into a wolf. What he did to escape being killed by the wreckage was transform into either a cloud of mist or a cloud of smoke."

Alucard remained silent.

"I'm actually kind of impressed. Even for full-blooded vampires, the form of mist is one of the trickier morphing abilities. Considering that he's only half-vampire, he's got to be much more powerful than he's let on."

Still, Alucard said nothing.

"Anyway," Scarlet continued in a suspiciously conversational tone of voice, "all this commotion has really distracted me from the most important part of this: _Orlok's dead!_ Which means I can't see his face in my head whenever I'm thinking my usual dirty thoughts anymore! Thank gods, or rather, Charlotte, because you're the reason for his flattened head." She hugged Charlotte in an uncomfortable show of affection. By the way, now that I've got all my powers back, Round Three will be coming up next time we see each other."

"I look forward to turning you into toast again."

"And _I_ look forward to doing unspeakable things to your body now that I can."

"Like you could even get that close."

"You keep thinking that," Scarlet quipped in semi-encouragement.

"We'll settle this later after we've finished our job, alright," Charlotte said, rolling her eyes.

"Deal! So, who's up for a five-way?"

Nobody responded.

"What if I sign a demonic contract not to suck out any of your souls at any time?"

Jonathan slowly began raising his hand, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible until he felt something clamp around his arm. He turned his head to face his unknown attacker and was rather surprised.

He'd never realized how strong Charlotte's grip was. Her face was almost completely calm, but there was something in her eyes that radiated an aura of doom. Between the extremely painful hold on his arm and the terrifying look in her eyes, he was beginning to fear for his life.

"Lower the arm, or trust me; you will _never_ reproduce."

The implication behind her words clear, Jonathan obediently sat in the corner of the room and awaited orders.

* * *

><p>Several minutes after the group had left Orlok's chamber, a figure carrying an elegant sword encrusted with a blood ruby materialized on top of the rubble, pushing a great deal of it aside easily, revealing the broken body of Count Orlok, barely alive at all. The figure slid the sword into Orlok's body, relishing the crucified shriek of a soul being agonizingly ripped from its body. He then withdrew the sword, picked the vampire's body up and vanished, the only trace of his being there the displaced rubble.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I think that this is the longest chapter so far. Just by a bit, but still, I'm happy! So, who liked this chapter? Was Orlok appropriately annoying? Was Scarlet's second last scene amusing? Well, leave a review and let me know.<strong>

**The Armory:**

**Stella's Weapons:**

**Valmanway** – _The Legendary Sword of the Sky that allows its wielder to control the wind. Its name means Blessed Wings._

**Joyeuse** – _An elegant sword cut from a single huge diamond and coated entirely with gold. It was forged by fairies and it blesses its wielder with good luck. It costs $92,002,740,000.00 on the market in the outside world. Funny how someone would just leave it lying around while exploring a monster infested castle. Heh heh…Not so lucky for him anymore though._


	17. Chapter XVII: Second Mission Briefing

**Author's Note: I'm not dead!…I'm not dead?…Well… that's news to me…**

**Anyway, this is one of my shortest chapters so far, so I'm posting it as a double-feature. Hooray!**

**…**

**…**

**…**

**…Where the (BLEEP) do I get off saying something like that! I am FOUR! (BLEEP)ING! MONTHS! LATE! Dear God in Heaven, I am so sorry everybody. Thing is, my dad has made it virtually impossible for me to write now. He's gotten it into his head that it doesn't matter how much practice I have if I don't read literature that he picks out for me.**

**So, updates are now going to come at the beginning of each month; I have several chapters already prepared, so that should last for a few months. It's looking like it'll end off at a clean twenty-five chapters, so I'm more than halfway finished the story. At the current rate I'm going at, I should be done by the time I turn thirty. RAGE! Anyway, enough of my problems, you're here for Jonathan, Charlotte and the cast of Castlevania…and _their _problems…I guess. Why are _they_ more important than me?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter XVII<strong>

**Interlude, or, Second Mission Briefing /and/ Replacing the 'Dress'**

The hunters left Scarlet behind at the soonest possible opportunity after they had made sure Alucard had sufficiently recovered. It had taken a while, but they finally made it back to the front courtyard. Oliver was there as usual. He was also looking scared out of his wits, the reason for being so hovering at his side.

"Good hunters, I have something that you may be interested in hearing," Death rasped grimly, "You see—"

"Actually, I have something I want to ask you first," Charlotte interjected, "Why haven't we seen any sign of you in the castle yet? We destroyed Camilla hours ago."

"In a hurry, are you?" Death responded caustically, "You've been doing shoddy work, hunters. Camilla is alive, if only just barely, and her barrier against my physical presence is still in effect. In fact _none_ of your intended targets are dead yet."

"What! How is that possible?"

"Slogra and Gaibon have reported that Camilla has disappeared from the castle, meaning that she is now confined to the uppermost levels of the castle. I imagine that must be where Orlok has been taken as well. Another presence I have found that I recognize is an old friend of yours, Alucard."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Giving away petty specifics such as that is not among the privileges granted to me by God. I can only confirm things that you already have suspicions about. Besides, I would hate to…er…kill…the suspense, if you could pardon the pun, thank you."

"Hmph, very well," Alucard conceded.

"So based on what you _have_ told us, it sounds like Alastor is bringing a bunch of dead vampires to the pinnacle of the castle. What's he doing with them exactly?" Jonathan asked.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't necessarily need your help, now would I?"

"A-Anyway," Oliver stuttered, glancing nervously at Death every few seconds, "Under t-the c-circums-stances, you only, uh, hav-ve t-to worry ab-bout Alastor now, s-so he should be y-your target now."

"Cowardly fool," Death muttered shaking his head.

"Say, have we gotten stocked up on potions since last time we came out here?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't think so. With all the monsters in the castle, I've almost run out," Jonathan established, checking his bag, "How are you guys holding up?"

"Loretta still has all of hers, but I don't have any," Stella said airily, "I think we'll manage though."

"I am perfectly fine at the present, Maria has not fought a great deal so she has most of hers left as well," Alucard confirmed.

"Between use we shouldn't have a problem then," Charlotte said, "Let's not waste any money, we can afford to hold onto."

"Fine with me," Jonathan grinned.

"Slogra and Gaibon have assisted Oliver in procuring a map showing the details of the remaining areas of the castle that you have yet to investigate," Death rumbled.

"Uh, y-yeah." Oliver continued shakily, "Slogra… he, uh, said th-that they couldn't find out any details about the pinnacle, b-but they explored the remainder of the castle. You'll need to m-make y-your way through, er, two more areas to reach the top floors. I'll be charging you one thousand dollars for it, but that shouldn't be too much of a stretch for you guys at this point, right?"

"No, not at all. We'll take it," Jonathan decided, handing the money over.

"Okay, here you go," Oliver reached into his backpack and drew out a map detailing the upper levels of the castle.

"We don't really know what to expect there so we can't just go rushing in," Stella said warily.

"Well then, Death, considering that you owe us for trying to kill us several times, you're going to send Slogra and Gaibon in ahead of us," Jonathan decided.

Death snapped his skeletal fingers, and the two aforementioned demons appeared, both smirking unsettlingly.

"Guess again," Slogra hissed, "We may be expendable, but we are at least valued members of Death's guard. You on the other hand are working for the frightened whelp over there," Gaibon raised a clawed wing to point at Oliver. He made a noise like a shaky snarl and it occurred to the hunters that the demon was laughing. "You'll be getting no direct assistance from us."

"How about indirect assistance?" Jonathan asked cheekily.

"That is up to our good master's judgment," Slogra answered before vanishing.

"I'm afraid that you shall be going up there alone," Death said in an obviously unconcerned tone of voice, "I would not worry too much. There are five of you after all. Six if you count the reincarnated Maria Renard."

"So it's true? I really am the reincarnation of a girl from over a hundred years ago?"

"I have no doubt of that now," Death replied. "Your abilities and your otherwise unexplained knowledge of facts that should be beyond your comprehension have proved this."

"This is so _weird!_ What does this mean?" Maria groaned, "Am I her or am I, well, me? Or am I myself even though I'm _supposed_ to be her?"

"That is your choice alone, miss Fox. Only you are able to answer that question." Death snapped his fingers, and familiar ripple in the air appeared as he vanished inside the distortion.

"Oh, thank you merciful God!" Oliver gasped.

"He probably heard that you know," Jonathan warned with a smirk. The young Ecclesian groaned at that.

"Alucard, what did Death mean when he said that being her or me is my choice alone?" Maria asked.

"I should think that the answer is obvious, but I suppose I can afford to give you a clue without forcing you to overlook your own intelligence."

"What in the world does _that_ mean?"

"It means that you must find that answer on your own. I can help you, but I cannot answer it for you."

"Oh. R-Right. So what would that clue that you would give me be?"

"It is as follows: Your name is Mariabella Fox, is it not? That _is_ what you have called yourself all your life if I m not mistaken."

"Well, Maria Fox, yes, but what about it?"

"I will not say anything else. This is your own quest, for you to complete on your own."

Maria groaned, "That isn't any help to me at all."

"Not immediately. But should you ponder the notion for a while, I am confident that you will be closer to an answer than you are now."

"Um, excuse me, Oliver?" Loretta whispered, walking up to the young man. He seemed a bit oblivious to her first prompt so she tapped him on the shoulder and waved her hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh! Uh, hey, why are we whispering?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to surprise my sister. You've noticed the dreadful condition of her outfit, right?"

"It's hard not to. To say it's in tatters is an overstatement. Actually, it's not an overstatement; it's just fundamentally incorrect."

"So true. She desperately needs new clothes because her dress is almost at the point where it just won't hold itself up anymore. It can barely be called a 'dress' anymore as it is. So, I was hoping you had something that would fit her."

"Of course!" Still a whisper, "Let's see what we have here," Oliver began hunting through a large wardrobe near the spot on the ground that he was keeping his weapons. "I've got this royal blue leather-reinforced dress. Specially made for a lady who wants to look good while retaining full mobility."

"Eww. Blue is _not_ her color. Sorry, but do you have anything else?"

"How about this crimson leather women's fencing uniform? It'd suit her fighting style."

"Better, but she needs to look at least a bit flamboyant. She'd never accept anything that didn't draw attention. It has to stand out in some way."

Oliver put a hand to his chin, looking around at nothing in particular, "Stand out… Stand out… I have an idea. If the rest of you start to leave soon, just stall for a minute. I can fix this thing up to make it look extravagant in a jiffy."

"Okay, I'll see what you can cook up," Loretta agreed.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was pouring over the map, having no small amount of difficulty making heads or tails of it.

"The map isn't perfectly clear, but judging by the placement of the stairs, I'd assume that the closest route to the upper levels of the castle is relatively nearby," Charlotte announced.

"To be just a bit less, er, ambiguous about it, I'm pretty sure its somewhere in the foyers near the entrance, though considering how we didn't even notice it when we were last going through there, I'd say it's hidden, or at least somewhere we haven't looked," Jonathan elaborated.

"Are you calling me redundant?" Charlotte said in a somewhat characteristically haughty tone.

"No, but you did say, 'the _closest_ route to the upper levels of the castle is relatively _nearby_.' I mean even _I_ see the problem with that sentence. It was somewhat ambiguous, and if it's the closest route, then of course it's nearby."

"Not necessarily!" Charlotte exclaimed defensively, "Okay, fine, I messed up there. I blame you! You're a bad influence on my intelligence!"

"No problem, I won't stop you. It's a free country after all."

A few minutes into the 'lovers quarrel,' Oliver discretely made his way over to Loretta.

"Hey, Loretta?" Oliver whispered to the younger Lecarde sister, "It's ready."

"That was fast. How could you have finished sewing anything in such a short amount of time?"

"Sew? I can't sew. I used matter synthesis by doing an altered form of the techniques described in a book that Death loaned me. It took a few tries and some really creepy results, but I finally ended up with a final product that I'm sure she'll like. Have a look."

Oliver showed her a new outfit displayed on a mannequin in the wardrobe. It was clearly based on the fencer's uniform, but there were several clear differences:

Instead of just the bright red breaches and shirt, it was now in five distinct pieces: A dark red low-cut top with a plunging neckline and an elevated collar, a matching swallowtail cape, a pair of tight black pants, and a combat skirt that cut off a few inches above the ankles of a pair of black knee-high boots.

"Well, while I'm sure it'll cost a fortune based on the cost of materials, but it certainly doesn't _look_ that expensive."

Oliver coughed, although Loretta was almost positive that she had heard him say what sounded like, "thirty-three thousand, eight hundred."

"Aside from that, it certainly stands out. The costume aspect is terrific. I just know she'll love this split…double…cape? Thing?"

"That's called a swallowtail cape. Because as you can see, it's shaped like a swallow's tail."

"I suppose that's…kind of interesting. Actually, despite the fact that I know she'll be thrilled about the plunging neckline, isn't that kind of reckless? I mean her vitals would be completely exposed."

"That's been thought of. Try to put your hand through the part of the shirt that's open."

Loretta complied and was astonished when she couldn't push through it without moving the whole front of the garment. "I can't understand this? What's happening when I put my hand near the neckline? It feels like there's still something there, but I can't see anything."

"Have you ever heard the story of the Emperor's New Clothes?"

"Yes, and the reference doesn't exactly inspire confidence," Loretta said warily, eyes narrowing at the merchant.

"I understand your concern. Don't worry; it's not like that. It's invisible leather from a positively chimeric monster called a chimeleon."

"Er, what? A Ky-mee-leon? What exactly is that, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

"It's like a particularly violent ram with legs and paws like a lion, fangs, and it's covered with scales. It can blend with its surroundings, hence the cross between the words 'chimera' and 'chameleon.' Since it's a magical monster however, its chameleon-like abilities are much more effective: It can literally become invisible, and if it's killed in that state, it stays that way and you can make invisible objects out of its hide. Not the most useful material for clothing, but it can be used for—"

"I'm sorry, but we need to keep this quick. I'd like to hear more about this thing later, but if it's going to be a long explanation, then it'll have to wait."

"Oh…okay…" Oliver said, sounding downtrodden.

"You can keep telling me about the outfit though." Loretta consoled him. He perked up almost immediately.

"It's got extra reinforcement over her pressure points, so it'll be harder for her opponents to immobilize her if they're trying to use them to their advantage. Everything has a thin layer of comfortable padding on the inside so that it won't feel like she's only wearing armor. The shirt's bust provides complete support, and is particularly solid on the outside. Knowing her at all, I'm sure she'd be mortified of wearing a bra along with a plunging neckline."

"My sister has absolutely no shame, does she?"

"She certainly has a…unique fashion sense. At least she's obviously quite confident about her sexuality."

"I suppose that's true. So how much was it? Thirty-three thousand, eight hundred, right? We still have that much," she took out the pouch of coins and paid with exact change.

"Okay, you're free to take it when you're ready," Oliver nodded, and began sorting the coins and bags out on a wooden plank that he'd elevated to the height of a desk using some cardboard boxes.

"Oh, Stella, I have something for you," Loretta sang out, she pulled the mannequin over to where she was standing to show Stella the new armor. The girl in question went wide-eyed in excitement the moment she saw it.

"Well I'd have preferred heels, but…wow, this is a wonder."

"Okay, we've got the proper coordinates," Jonathan shouted before noticing the altered fencing uniform. "Now, normally I'd wait for something that was obviously so sexy—_Ow!_" he yelped as Charlotte smacked him with her encyclopedia, "…but we have to hurry, so if you're going to put that on, put it on quick. We need to get to the garden's upper levels."

"You're very insensitive, Morris. I haven't gotten a nice new outfit in weeks."

"Well you're long overdue for one, I can practically see the last threads holding your dress up tearing."

—Wham—

"_Oof!_"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: There goes Charlotte being insensitive (and territorial) as usual. And what's this about Maria's identity? That'll be elaborated on in the next few chapters. Anyway, it is with a heavy heart that I end the ongoing joke about how Stella desperately needs to get a new set of clothes.<strong>

**_The Armory:_**

**Charlotte's Weapons:**

**Encyclopedia** – _One of Charlotte's favourite books. Very, VERY heavy._


	18. Ch XVIII: Tragedy of Undying Friendship

**Chapter XVIII**

**Tragedy of an Undying Friendship**

"These bugs are getting on my nerves!" Stella grumbled. "At least I get to test out how much maneuverability my new armor allows me."

"Oh jeez!" Maria shuddered as a gigantic dragonfly opened its mouth, revealing a swollen proboscis that began to spit what looked like corrosive green stomach acid. She couldn't tell which disgusted and terrified her more, she acid, or the view of the abomination's mouth.

"_Arise, Holy Cardinals!_" she shouted, summoning a pair of the red crested birds, both of which shot towards the beastly insect. They tore straight through its thorax, effectively cutting it into two pieces. "Insects should stay within their proper size limitations! Smaller than a half inch! Eeurgh!" She shuddered again.

They had reached the gardens with little to no difficulty, only having their progress impeded by a few zombies and armored skeletons, both of which only unnerved Maria. Once they arrived at their preliminary destination however, they were almost immediately set upon by a swarm of these oversized dragonflies.

Charlotte had cast _Explosion_ several times but considering that they couldn't find the enchanted nest, no matter how many waves they got rid of, more of the giant bugs would keep coming. She had already worn herself out. She was feeling completely drained, which wasn't good for her ego considering that she was now limited to using her Completed Tome of Arms.

"I feel so useless without my magic!"

"Forget about that!" Loretta shouted, casting _Blizzard Storm_, freezing a few insects and blowing some others away, "At least you _can_ defend yourself without your spells!"

"Char, if you can't use your magic, do you think you could do some recon?"

"Huh? What could you possibly need me to scout out at a time like this? You're completely surrounded by hostiles!"

"Well these 'hostiles' are going to keep on coming unless we destroy their nest. Go find it, and make it fast!"

"Oh! …Okay, got it! Hang in there 'til I get back," Charlotte agreed in a warning tone of voice, "If you go and die on me, I swear I'll kill you."

"No problem," Jonathan reassured her, "I could take these guys on all day. Although more than that I can't guarantee. Now get going!"

"Right!"

She ran off, going up a nearby staircase.

"How long do you really think we can hold them off?" Stella asked Jonathan.

"A few hours at best. I mean, Alucard is a huge help, but I don't think even he can stand up against an endless assault. Maria seems to be doing fine, but she isn't nearly as experienced as the rest of us. If she messes up, we're all in trouble. Also, if Loretta exhausts herself she becomes a liability, so she needs to be sure to pace herself."

Another wave of dragonflies emerged and Jonathan pulled out his crosses, throwing them at a group of the freakish bugs. Catching them both as they boomeranged back, he spun around and tossed them towards another crowded area without missing a beat, killing almost eight of the monsters in total. Putting the crosses away, he pulled out his darkfire whip and lashed out at an insect that had come a bit too close, his first swing leading straight into his second attack on another nearby dragonfly.

Alucard was beginning to tire of fighting the same kind of enemy over and over again. He slashed several of the monsters to pieces with his heirloom sword before going to check on the other hunters when something caught his eye: Maria was just standing still as several enemies approached her. She seemed lost in thought.

"Maria, now is _not_ the time to be standing about idly! Pay attention to your—

"Aha! I remember! _Heed my call, Feline of Pride!_"

As she said the incantation, a cat materialized I front of her, transforming from something more akin to a housecat into a large silver-furred bobcat with primeval fangs. It purred as she gave it a quick stroke on the head before it pounced on the nearest dragonfly and ate it like a prepared meal. Its next two victims were lucky enough not to be eaten alive, but that was as far as their luck went. They still ended up sundered by a bobcat. This continued until the dragonflies figured out that the cat was clearly their predator and stayed clear of it, and Maria by extension.

"You were saying, Alucard?"

"…I stand corrected."

"Yes, you do."

"That feline at your side and those cardinals you summoned earlier. They are both animals that Maria Renard summoned regularly as her partners in battle. When did you learn to summon them? It must have been quite recent as I've not seen you perform such spells before."

"Well, as you probably heard, I just remembered how to call this friendly big guy. The cardinals though…I can't really remember. Maybe the memory of summoning them came back to me while I was asleep?"

"Perhaps. That would not be unheard of."

"…He's so cute!" Maria suddenly gushed, scratching the cat around its ears. "I think that if I'm going to keep coming with you, having this guy around will be a big help. Although…"

"Is something the matter?"

"Well, this really doesn't support the notion that I'm really Mariabella Fox. It actually would suggest the opposite. That I'm supposed to be Maria Renard."

"I would argue against that. Nothing can be said for certain."

"But still! I like these powers that I've gotten. Before this, I was content just to be an average student at Cornell University back in New York State. Now…well… it's only been a few days of this, not even two weeks yet, but I'm already not sure I'll be able to go back so easily. I really want to see my other friends again, and I'm sure my parents are worried about me, considering that I usually write them almost every other day. Heh, I'll bet even my sister and her boyfriend are probably worried about me."

"I'm sure that if you can adjust to talking to a creature such as myself so regularly, you can readjust to your normal life."

Maria smiled at his attempt to cheer her up, but she laughed at his intended proof, "That is such a bad example. You look exactly like a human. Other than the noble behavior and getup, and the unnaturally fair skin, you look just like a human, so of course I could get used to _you_. The monsters are another story. But I guess I've gotten used to most of them too."

"Although you're still frightened of the undead monsters. I should expect that must be reassuring. You still want to return to your education, and you still love your friends and family."

"I guess that's true, but what about everything about me that's from other Maria? I know that she's the reason I like these Victorian-style outfits. Even before I first came here, I've never been able to tolerate it when people give me any sort of criticism on my cooking. I don't even know if these feelings I have for you are genuine," she blushed madly upon realizing what she had used as an example, covering her mouth with her hands as if by putting them there quickly enough, the words would be unsaid.

As it happened, her train of thought was broken and their unconventional therapy session was cut short as Charlotte ran back into the room.

"I found the nest. Burned it. All flowers and sunshine from now on…at least until we see something else that wants to kill us."

"Huh. I was wondering why I couldn't hear those dragonflies anymore. I guess I was too preoccupied to think about it more clearly."

"_Preoccupied?_" Charlotte asked incredulously, "With _what?_… And where in the world did that bobcat come from?"

"Oh. I, uh, summoned it," Maria clarified.

"And once again, I'm feeling inferior to the novice."

An oozing watery substance landed on her shoulder with a splat. She looked at the slime in disgust, trying in vain to move her shoulder far away from her neck. Finally, she noticed that Maria was staring past her and realized that something was definitely violating her personal space.

"There's a disgusting vine with a decaying human face at the end of it hanging over me isn't there?"

Maria nodded, but didn't seem very intimidated. More drool landed of Charlotte's shoulder and she cringed as she felt it running down her arm.

"Ew…Maria, what are you just standing there for? You have a huge bobcat at your disposal! Kill this damn plant and make it stop drooling on me!"

"Oh, right, that's what I was thinking. Uproot that ugly vine for me would you sweetheart, she said pleasantly to the feline, which obeyed without another word."

As if it sensed the impending danger, the corpseweed lunged at Charlotte. If it had to die here, it would be damned if it didn't at least have one last meal.

As it turned out, it was damned.

"Has anyone got a rag I can borrow?" Charlotte asked, "I don't know how much longer I can hold down my lunch with this drool on my shoulder."

"Hey, Alucard, can I borrow your handkerchief, again?" Maria asked, holding her hand out.

"Certainly," he dropped the cloth gently into Maria's waiting hand, at which point she immediately picked the oozing saliva up off of Charlotte's shoulder. She immediately dragged the handkerchief along the ground to rid it of the slimy substance, and causing Alucard to adopt a facial expression commonly worn by curmudgeonly old men.

I'm sorry Alucard, but would you rather have monster drool on your tissue, or a bit of dirt? I'd choose dirt."

"You never said that 'neither was not an option, so I'd truly rather have neither on it. Though…I suppose it cannot be helped now."

"I commend you for your continued survival," came a voice, "Your resourcefulness and your abilities to defend yourself almost make me sorry that you'll be dead so soon."

They had only heard the voice once before, but Jonathan and Charlotte had made a point of remembering it. It did, after all, belong to their target. Said target was presently standing on a ledge overlooking the center of the garden, a pompous smirk perfectly clear on his pale features.

"Alastor, so you came to us?" Jonathan snarled in preparation for battle, "Thanks for making our job that much easier. We _appreciate it!_" he shouted lunging at the vampire, Vampire Killer out and thrashing. Alastor, sidestepped the attack and blocked it with a strange, black sword with the sharpest edge Jonathan had ever seen. Embedded in the pommel was a blood-red gemstone, and he may have been imagining it, but for a moment he could hear familiar screams from deep inside the blade.

Deep inside the blade? The whole sword wasn't even as thick as his arm at its widest point other than the guard. There was no depth for the screams to come from. He'd go see a doctor about this when they got back.

"Hmph! Do try to control yourself. I can't have my sword tainted by the filthy blood of a human now can I?" Alastor sneered.

"Between the two of us there _is_ someone with blood filthier than the slums of Istanbul, but it certainly isn't _me!_" he lashed out again with the Vampire Killer, only for Alastor to leap deftly out of the way. "I'm truly sorry, but I'll not be joining you on this particular evening. I have made arrangements for your entertainment however."

Based on the malicious grin spreading steadily across his face, none of them expected any of said 'arrangements' could be good for any of them.

"Please, my servant, it's not polite to keep my guests waiting," Something in the cruel tone of Alastor's voice was unsettling. It was the tone a slave driver who enjoyed his job might use, Jonathan thought.

"No! I will not obey you, monster!"

"Ah, how hypocritical. You call me a monster, when you yourself are no different. It's true; I have been a vampire since birth. However your own _master_ is the one who inflicted the curse of the vampire on you. So I wonder, between me and the son of that worm Mathias, which of the two of us is the _true_ monster?"

"You are one hundred times the monster that Master Alucard could have ever been, despicable scum!"

Alastor merely cackled, before vanishing, leaving them alone except for the unseen speaker.

"That voice! It's impossible!" Alucard gasped, eyes wide with horror.

"What do you mean? Who was Alastor talking to, Alucard?" Maria asked apprehensively.

"It simply cannot be…" Alucard said, his voice a ghost of a whisper.

The speaker stepped out of the shadows, looking as though he was being pushed by something. He wore a white shirt beneath a black coat that reached his ankles. His unnaturally pale face was contrasted by his jet-black hair, and in his effort to avoid moving, he had his teeth bared, exposing a set of fangs.

"Lyudmil!"

"Alucard! You…you must destroy me…now! I do not know…how much…longer I can fight Alastor's…will!"

"He's controlling you? Cowardly bastard!"

"Regardless, I shall end up killing all of you if you do not…destroy me! _Aarrghh!_" Lyudmil lunged at Alucard, fangs bared, only for the dark prince to dive out of the way and slash at his former servant's back, missing by a few inches.

"You know this guy?" Jonathan asked him as he jumped away from another attack, once again trying to strike Lyudmil.

"We were friends…many years ago…_yyrraaghh!_…I was his servant in…this castle."

"And for a time, my only friend," Alucard concluded.

"Then why are you fighting?" Maria shouted, "Find a way to break Alastor's control! You saved…Richter…that was his name, right?…from a spell that was controlling him before! Why can't you do the same with Lyudmil?"

"Richter was being controlled by the Dark Priest Shaft, an entity that had no body of his own and was restricted to hovering near his host's body. If Alastor was here, and we could kill him, then we could save Lyudmil. As it stands however, Alastor has trapped us all inside this garden."

"His intention…was to either have me kill all of you…or to break Alucard's spirit by forcing him to kill me. Unfortunately, he played his cards flawlessly."

"I've never heard of a pure-hearted vampire before. He could have been a valuable research subject," Charlotte murmured, her curiosity practically forming a visible aura around her. Unfortunately for her, Jonathan was listening closely, and slapped her in the back of the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" she hollered furiously.

"He's not a lab rat, Charlotte. Don't talk about him like one. Honestly, sometimes you just have no common sense."

"Hmph, you're one to talk."

"You have a point, but so do I."

Meanwhile, Alucard dodged another attack, and missed with his own strike again. Jonathan made a move to enter the fray but was startled when Alucard shot a fireball at him, forcing him to leap out of the way.

"Stay out of this, all of you! This is between Lyudmil and myself. I have no need for your assistance."

"Alucard! Hurry up and destroy me!" Lyudmil shouted.

"You're too fast! Use a weapon of some sort!"

"You're right. That may help you."

Lyudmil picked up a sword from a fallen skeleton blaze and attempted to slash at Alucard, but the dhampir parried the attack and kicked Lyudmil in the chest, knocking him onto his back for a moment, though he picked himself up fairly quickly and blocked Alucard's follow-up strike with his second-hand sword. He lunged at Alucard again, locking swords with him, pushing with all of his might.

Full-blooded vampire or not, he was still outmatched. Alucard slid away from their struggling position, using Lyudmil's excess momentum against him. The vampire found himself thrown forward by his own weight, and was barely able to block Alucard's next strike. The half-blood didn't stop there however. He continued slashing ferociously with his heirloom sword, giving his former servant no room to counterattack, keeping him entirely on the defensive. Steel clanged against steel as the two swords collided.

Lyudmil was prepared to block every single attack that Alucard directed at him. Whether or not he could land a hit himself, he was able to continue this indefinitely. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and Alucard was gone. He looked around, wondering where he'd gone when suddenly…

"_Hellfire!_"

A salvo of fireballs slammed into Lyudmil from behind, where Alucard had rematerialized. Before he was able to recover, Alucard had driven his sword through his chest, a look of regret crossing his stoic features. Lyudmil coughed, hacking up a handful of blood, before his strength abandoned him and he collapsed. He smiled, even as blood began to pool beneath him and trickled from the corner of his mouth. Alucard knelt beside his former servant, propping his head up with his right hand.

"Alastor will pay for this, old friend. I promise you."

"Thank you, Master Alucard… I express my deepest…regrets that I've caused you such pain again…even after what I've already done. How is it…that I've ended up being the tool of a creature of the night so often? This is the third time you've been forced to kill me. Perhaps God truly has…abandoned me."

"You've kept a pure soul, even as a creature of darkness. I know little about the methods in which He operates, but I can only imagine that this fact alone proves that you've not been deemed a lost cause in the Lord's eyes."

"That is a pleasant thought… Perhaps you're right."

"Perhaps. I could not know for certain."

"No one in the world could. It is…not just you." He coughed once again, expelling more blood from his mouth, "Three times… I suppose…I could…influence…a dark priest to…resurrect me. I…could become notorious…for constantly reviving, just like…your…father." Lyudmil was making a physical effort just to continue speaking at this point. Life's only certainty had finally come for him again.

"I suppose that would be amusing. Perhaps you should attempt that the next time I sense a threat to humanity. You would make a formidable ally."

"Y…es… I ag…ree… M…as…t…er… A…l…u…—"

Lyudmil never finished his sentence.

"Good luck in the next life…Old friend."

Alucard stood up. A look of fierce determination on his face, "Are we prepared to face Alastor?" he asked grimly.

"You know it. I don't like problems after all, and he is a _big_ one," Jonathan confirmed.

There was a round of agreements.

"Alright then. I'll lead," Jonathan decided, "The top of the castle _is_… _this way_!" he pointed towards a door and was about to move when Charlotte stopped him.

"Hold on! Maria, I feel like I should clean that handkerchief off."

Before Maria could stop her, Charlotte had snatched Alucard's handkerchief from her and was bringing it over to a nearby fountain.

"Charlotte, that's a really bad idea!"

"Come on, it's just a fountain," she unfolded the cloth and began soaking it in the water when something she wasn't expecting happened. Maria on the other hand was completely ready, and was simply staring at her friend with a look of pity as a merman surfaced inside the fountain.

"I already told you to stop making a mess on our doorstep! Are you not satisfied with making a mess out front? You have to sully our back door too!"

"What are the chances? It's the same guy," Maria groaned, shaking her head in dismay as Charlotte took a jet of water to the face.

* * *

><p>Only a few minutes later they once again heard the screams. They sounded slightly different this time, but they were unquestionably of the same kind of source<p>

"What are those sounds!" Maria shouted over the din. "They're terrible! This is the third time too!"

The noise died down soon enough, but even after it was gone, nobody said anything for a while. Finally Alucard decided to break the silence by responding to Maria's question.

"I'm afraid that I cannot answer that," Alucard muttered grimly, "To be perfectly honest, the most I can say is that something has been caused a great deal of pain."

"But what?" Charlotte demanded, "Not to mention who's doing this? Is it Alastor?"

"Most likely, but as for what it is…I haven't the faintest idea."

"How about why they're screaming like that?" Charlotte continued asking questions.

"I've never heard anything of the like. Whether I appear it or not, those noises set my fangs on edge."

"You? Scared?" Jonathan gave the dhampir a questioning look, before raising his hands in hasty apology, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound obnoxious! It's just not something I would have expected."

"As you might say, no problem. I'm perfectly fine. Now you should lead on. We cannot afford to dally about here."

Jonathan nodded and opened the door, motioning for the rest of the group to follow him. Beyond it was a spiral staircase that appeared to lead towards a large area of the castle with a number of large, elegant windows, some of which were stained glass. While the staircase seemed familiar, Jonathan knew where he was going. He had studied the map for almost an hour back when they took their break at the castle's entrance. At the top of this staircase was the grand ballroom, and the only areas beyond that were the living quarters and the top floor. He began his ascent.

"Psst! Charlotte!" Loretta whispered fiercely.

"Huh? What is it?" Charlotte began before the younger Lecarde sister quickly put a hand to her mouth.

"Keep it down, I don't want to worry my sister, she'll likely overreact, but I have to tell someone."

"Oh…uh, okay," Charlotte whispered back, "What do you need to say?"

"Well, it's just that…what Death said earlier worried me. He said that he couldn't tell us anything that we didn't have the evidence to discover on our own already. But then how could he tell us that Orlok is likely at the top of the tower? What evidence of that do we have?"

"Well, uh, we have…" Charlotte tried to answer, pressing her index fingers together, but coming up short, "Actually, I _can't_ think of any reason why we would know that. As far as I can tell, his ugly corpse should still be buried under a massive pile of tower wreckage."

"Exactly," Loretta confirmed, her eyes narrowing, "So what does this mean?"

Charlotte hesitated.

"I don't know…I haven't got the first clue."

"And that's what's worrying me."

Not quite the answer Loretta had hoped to hear.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I always liked Lyudmil. He was a tragic, and very moving character, even if he only appeared in a radio show that only aired in Japan. On a related matter, Alucard's imp familiar is really obnoxious to Maria Renard.<strong>


	19. Chapter XIX: The Malevolent Crusader

**Author's Note: ****Anyway, despite being much later than I had planned, I like how this one turned out:  
><strong>**Long chapter is looooooooooong. It's both fluffy **_**and**_** violent. Think of it like a homicidal alpaca. **

**Chapter XIX**  
><strong>The Grand Ballroom and/ The Malevolent Crusader**

* * *

><p>"Well, this place is uncharacteristically cheery looking," Maria quipped with a lopsided grin. She wasn't wrong to say so either. The hallway they were in was brightly colored with pale gold wallpaper and large decorative chandeliers hung from the ceiling.<p>

"I'm afraid I've never understood why my father ever felt the need to have a ballroom," Alucard stated before seeing a pair of ghostly dancers twirling around in an adjacent room, "Although, the monsters inhabiting it seem to be enjoying the atmosphere."

"Well, I never!" the ghostly woman cried in a distinctly British accent.

"Mind your manners, boy!" the man of the pair exclaimed, "Really, _monsters? Us?_ Such a _ghastly_ thing to say."

"I apologize sir, mademoiselle," Alucard said in a particularly charming tone, "I was referring to the skeletal waiters that seem to be wandering around aimlessly, not to yourselves of course."

"Oh, well, no harm done I suppose. Just be sure to be more conscientious young man."

"Once again, I apologize."

"Such a well mannered youth," the aristocratic lady chimed before she continued dancing with her partner.

"Well played, man," Jonathan chuckled, lightly elbowing Alucard in the ribs, earning him a thoroughly confused look from the dhampir.

"What exactly did I play well?"

"Don't mind him," Maria said cheerfully, "You've got more important things to worry about. Like explaining to me why you never use that tone with me!"

"I-I beg your pardon?" Alucard stammered.

"You heard me!"

"Charlotte, I want to meet more of your friends," Jonathan stated very objectively, "Are they all as crazy as she is?"

"She's not crazy, she's just enthusiastic. And I suppose a bit hyperactive. Then again, she did sneak into the trunk of our car in order to follow us to an unspecified location that just happens to be a dangerous haunted castle. Yeah, she may need professional help," Charlotte finished just a little half-heartedly.

"So, these ghost dancers? Who are they exactly? I've wondered that for a while," Charlotte asked Alucard, hoping that the dhampir would have an answer.

"I always figured that they were the restless spirits of people who died in waltzing accidents," Jonathan snickered before the dhampir could answer, earning a laugh from everyone except for Charlotte. Even Alucard barely held back a grin.

Their progression was slowed by the appearance of the occasional disc armor or skeleton waiter, but other than that and a few other monsters, they were moving up fairly quickly. That was until they came to a three-way fork in the hall.

"We can pair up and go down one of the three hallways with our partner. Usual groups?" Jonathan asked.

"Well I'm certainly not going with the vamp sisters," Charlotte smirked.

"Charlotte…" Loretta rolled her eyes in irritation.

"I'll stick with Alucard," Maria announced.

"Well, we certainly decided on that quickly," Jonathan muttered before giving the order, "Let's go then. Pick a hallway and get moving. We'll meet up here in an hour."

* * *

><p>Stella and Loretta found themselves wandering through what could only be described as an indoor hedge maze. What one was doing in a ballroom was what they couldn't figure out.<p>

"This is the one thing that I miss about being a vampire: We could fly. If we could still do that, we wouldn't be stuck in this goddamn overgrown flower patch!"

"With all due respect sister, it's more of a bush garden."

"Actually, your both wrong. Heeheehee."

"Huh!"

* * *

><p>"What exactly is this place?" Alucard asked Maria, looking around the room in wonder. It was circular and housed several projectors each with a large roll of film on them.<p>

"Well, it looks like it's a movie theater."

"I'm afraid I don't have the first inkling as to what a 'movie' might be."

"It's like a moving picture." Alucard's eyes widened.

"Humans have that kind of magic? I was under the impression that they were well on their way to rejecting the arcane entirely in favor of science."

"Oh we are, don't worry. It's not magic. You know, I thought there would never be anything I would be able to explain to you. Now that I know that you don't know everything, I somehow feel closer to you."

"I'm not sure whether that is a compliment or an insult."

"It's…supposed to be a compliment, but…I guess the way I phrased it made it a little of both. Sorry."

"No harm done. I am fine. I would like to know how these moving pictures work though."

"Alright, I actually watched someone make one before. Our university is fairly prestigious so we have a couple of the special cameras needed to make them. You turn a crank and then—"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I do not know what a camera is either."

"This could take a while then," Maria sighed, "I'll explain while we investigate."

* * *

><p>Jonathan and Charlotte found themselves in the central ballroom. Huge windows allowed a beautiful view of the night sky and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were particularly grand. Along one of the walls stood a long table with a large gramophone in the center, a stack of records piled up beside it. Charlotte grinned and strode up towards the old fashioned record player and took a look at the large disks.<p>

"Er…Charlotte what are you doing exactly?"

"I'm looking at the records of course!"

"But…why?"

"I thought I'd put on some music."

"And that would be productive because…?"

Charlotte gaped at him, appalled. "My god! When did _you_ become the responsible one? Anyway, lets see what's in this stack of records. Hmm…Mozart's Requiem…Beethoven's Ninth Symphony…Lapis Philosophorum, never heard of that…Stravinsky's The Right of Spring, gorgeous. The Firebird Suite is on the back of this one too. I'll hold onto this…Hmm…Althea's Waltz…What or who is Althea? I'll put this one on."

She slid the record out of its sleeve, placed it on the gramophone and put the needle into position, listening as a rather flowery sounding waltz began to play, resounding throughout the ambient room.

"Hey Jonathan, are you able to waltz?"

"Uh, yeah, I've dated a few classy girls, so I decided that I should probably learn. I can also tango and slow dance, but that's about it beyond dumb, wild freestyle."

"Alright then. Let's dance!" Charlotte insisted, dragging Jonathan with her to the center of the dance floor.

* * *

><p>"Who's there?" Stella demanded.<p>

"Heeheehee! I'm hurt," the voice said mockingly, "Can't you see me? I'm all around you after all."

"The maze!" Loretta gasped.

"This is bad."

The entire room seemed to tremble and ivy erupted from the bushes, entwining into the figure of a woman's upper body. The creature extended its vines and stretched towards the sisters to look at them more directly.

"What in the world are you?" Stella gasped, taking a step backwards as the plant-like creature approached her.

"I am a blood dryad, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you are my dinner."

"Why is it that over half of the monsters that we encounter on our own want us to be their main course?"

"I can't answer that big sister, but I can cut this one down with you."

"You can try!" the dryad cackled before allowing her body to uncoil, freeing up over twenty vines that proceeded to chase down the sisters.

"Stella hold those off for a minute while I'm casting!"

"Got it!" Stella twirled around and drew both of her new swords. Despite hacking wildly at the pursuing strands of plant matter, the vines kept coming. Nevertheless, Stella held her ground for almost a minute before the vines knocked her over. Fortunately, Loretta had almost finished casting by that point.

"_Blizzard Storm!_" a huge runic symbol appeared in front of her and an unimaginably cold wind burst forth from it causing a large section of the hedges to turn to ice. The vines tried to lunge towards the sisters, but were much slower and sluggish than they were only moments earlier.

"What in the name of Azazel? What did you do to me?" demanded the blood dryad.

"Isn't it obvious, plant lady? I froze you. Your circulatory system between the different parts of your hedge system is completely cut off. Now Stella, I'm sure you know how to make that permanent, right?"

"Of course. _Hurricane Wave!_" Stella raised the Valmanway and swept it along the ground sending a violent blast of wind bursting through the frozen plant matter shattering the entire frozen area and freeing up a lot more space in the room.

"Curse you, you human scum!" howled the dryad in agony.

"If you don't like it then do something about it," Stella taunted, "not that we plan on stopping before we've completely uprooted you."

"Die, filth!" the dryad screamed, shooting several vines at the sisters, who simply froze them along with another section of the garden, shattering them shortly thereafter. This process repeated several times until the creature all but roared. And suddenly the rest of the hedges withered away leaking a sticky red substance behind, like sap mixed with blood, causing the substance to pool into macabre puddles. And at the center of the withered plants was an almost human figure. A naked woman with roots extending from her fingertips and branches extending from her ankles instead of legs lay trembling on the bloodstained floor.

"My b-body! What hav-ve you d-done to _m-my body!_" she wheezed. Her voice was reminiscent of a dehydrated human; of course the Lecarde sisters knew that the dryad was anything _but_ human. As Loretta approached, she noticed that the texture of the woman's skin looked more like thin tree bark than actual flesh tissue.

Suddenly, a few roots sprung out and grabbed Loretta with an agility that neither sister expected.

"Blood! I n-need, blood!"

The roots wound themselves around Loretta and began protruding thorns, and as the branches squeezed tighter, the more the thorns tore into Loretta's skin. Not a single drop of blood hit the floor as the thorns began their mission to suck their prey dry. The woman began to rise off the ground, no longer prone to the world.

"Sister…Hurry," Loretta managed to gasp out before falling unconscious.

It suddenly occurred to Stella that her sister was presenting her with an opportunity. She strafed around the remaining roots extending from the blood dryad's body, careful not to touch any of them, withered or not, just to ensure that the she wouldn't be noticed, and when she was directly behind it, she struck.

Joyeuse entered through the creature's back and out through her chest as Valmanway severed her arms and legs, leaving no plants for her to control except for the various leaves that grew on her body, as bloody sap oozed from the stumps of her arms and legs. She didn't even have time to scream; Her head was removed from her shoulders before the shock wore off.

Scraping the slime off her swords and onto her boot, she sheathed the weapons and hurried to her sleeping sister's aid.

* * *

><p>"…so then you just turn the projector on and the pictures that are recorded play back."<p>

"I must admit that if nothing else, it sounds entertaining."

"That's the point! They're supposed to be fun! I'm going to turn the projector on."

"Very well. I'll have a look if you are willing to let me."

Maria knelt down next to the projector and flipped several switches before the machine hummed to life, "To be perfectly honest, this is the most advanced projector that I've ever seen. It's much easier to operate than the one back at school," she sat down in a chair, gesturing for Alucard to sit next to her.

The wall that the projector faced changed from a blank screen to a black and white image of a theater curtain. Over which the word "Overture" was printed in blocky bold letters. As the word suggested, dramatic music began to play. Or maybe just a bit eerie.

"I thought you said that the pictures moved, and this is not all that entertaining," Alucard stated, pointing the fact out more from curiosity than the accusatory statement would have suggested.

"Well, they do. Lots of movies start with a sample of the soundtrack. Just like how in musical plays, they often play a medley of the score before they open the curtain."

About three minutes later, the image changed to that of a radio tower shooting lighting bolts from its summit as the words '_A Radio Picture_,' appeared in front of the tower in a jagged font as though they were also electrical.

"My apologies, but I don't understand what that means."

"Oh, it just means that Radio Pictures are the company that produced the film. After this it's going to show the opening credits which are just more words on a simple screen before the actual movie begins. The credits tell you everyone responsible for the production of the film."

The image faded, and dramatic music began as the screen changed into an extravagant stage over which was printed in the same blocky lettering:

**Radio Pictures**

**Presents**

As this faded, the words

**KING**

**KONG**

appeared, filling up the entire screen.

"Oh! It's this," Maria said with an air of understanding.

"I take it you mean that this is the name of the moving picture?"

"Yeah, I've actually seen this before. It's a monster movie, so it should be right up our alley. Actually, monster movies aren't really my thing. This is still pretty good because the visual effects are spectacular, but to be honest I like romantic comedies more. Something with Marilyn Monroe, or someone like that."

"Hmm," Alucard masked his continued lack of understanding with a hum of agreement.

* * *

><p>Charlotte twirled under Jonathan's arm, giggling as she did so.<p>

"I'm glad you're having fun, because this impulsive behavior of yours is starting to terrify me," Jonathan sighed exhaustedly as he continued to lead.

"Really?" Charlotte asked, "I would have expected that you'd enjoy having someone more like yourself around."

"No, not really. Particularly not when that person usually acts as my much-needed leash."

"Are you calling me strict or something?"

"Yeah, and normally that's a good thing. I mean I complain, but I recognize that without you there, I'd be getting myself into a whole mess of trouble."

"I don't know what to say to that," she mumbled without meeting his gaze.

"You just…haven't been _yourself_ for a while. And it's creeping me out. You're normally the responsible one and I'm the guy that charges forward without thinking."

"You—you _liked _that about me?" Charlotte asked, her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"Well, yeah, kinda."

The record suddenly came to a stop, startling the two dancing hunters.

"How touching." came a suave and arrogant voice, "Such a shame to interrupt such a sickeningly adorable moment, but the romance between two inferior beings such as yourselves is simply too insignificant for me to permit."

"Who's there?" Charlotte whipped around, the red on her cheeks spreading across her face. She looked towards the gramophone where the speaker would logically be, but nobody stood there.

"_Charlotte, behind you!_" Jonathan roared, tearing the Vampire Killer out of his bag. Charlotte ducked and slid away from the threat, hopping back to her feet and turning around to face her would be attacker.

"Yep, you're a vampire alright."

"How observant of you," said the figure, straightening himself up after his failed attempt to bite her throat. He was well dressed, wearing an expensive-looking dark blue suit with trimming that was almost as argent as his long silver hair. He grinned, exposing his fangs to the hunters.

"Do you _want_ us to kill you? Because actively searching for vampire hunters isn't something most of our previous targets have done. Although Camilla…" Jonathan trailed off.

"It is not anything personal. I abhor all of your kind with a burning passion. I simply do not allow any human to remain in any form in my domain. I would have sucked you dry and left your body an empty husk. You do not deserve to be bestowed the power of the night that I have been given. It would be wasted on such vermin as yourselves. But it seems as though I've neglected to introduce myself to you. You must remember my name as you burn in Hell, as it is the only name any human truly needs to hear. I am Joachim Armster."

"Wow. I can see the bite marks on your neck. For you to act like this as a vampire, you must have already been a monster when you were still human," Jonathan spat in disgust.

"As a human I only did what was right. I purged the world of those parasites who were unworthy of God's divine providence and were stealing it from those of us who _were_ chosen."

As he spoke, he grew more and more fervent, "I slaughtered the scum of the Earth! Hundreds of sub-human wretches were hunted down by my sword: _Muslims!_ _Jews! Black skinned abominations _that _dared _to call themselves men!" he spat each word as though they were acid burning his tongue, "But most of all,the _worms_ who had the gall to show _mercy _on them! They had no right to call themselves Crusaders! They were unworthy of God's divine providence! They were all hunted down alongside the Muslims, Jews, and abominations, and impaled and beheaded; dismembered; eviscerated and disemboweled!" he roared furiously.

Jonathan and Charlotte looked on in horror. The vampire that stood before them was beyond a creature of the night. They had seen demons before, and Joachim was nothing short of one. "I think I'm going to be sick," Charlotte choked, pressing a hand to her mouth.

"Now that the powers of darkness have shown me what _true_ strength is however, I realize it was not just those who rejected Christ who needed to perish. _All of humanity needed to die by my hand!_"

"I've heard enough!" Jonathan hissed, "You don't get a chance to run! You'll die here and now! Ready, Charlotte?"

"When you are."

Joachim laughed diabolically.

"Naturally, since you arrived in my domain, it is your turn to meet your ends at my hand!"

The dark vampire lunged towards them. There was no time to avoid the attack and both hunters prepared to take the full force of a lethal strike.

But it never came.

It was as though Joachim had passed right through them. They didn't feel a thing. They _did_ see something however. All around them, the dancehall seemed to bleed away, revealing a shadowy banquet hall with a particularly eerie atmosphere. There was a long dining table with a black tablecloth and various fancy dishes and silverware, as well as large wine goblets at every place setting. Various delicious looking foods were displayed across the table.

"Please, do help yourselves," Joachim drawled with a sinister grin, fixing him with his gaze from the far end of the table, "but keep in mind…you are the main course. All of the food is poisonous as well. But perhaps you would like something to drink?" with a snap of his pale fingers, all of the goblets filled themselves with blood.

"You would deny my invitation? You really would prefer to be butchered like the cattle you are, I suppose. It is quite fitting."

"This isn't good Charlotte."

"Why can't we just take him down like we would any other opponent?"

"Look at the room's color scheme. It's exactly the same color as Joachim's suit. We'll only be able to see him if we draw him close to the table, and he'll even blend in with the night sky outside the window. He has the advantage of camouflage and we don't have anything."

"As much as I admire your admittedly brilliant observation, you don't give me nearly enough credit." She opened her Book of Binding and flipped to the page featuring…

"_Chain Lightning!_"

A bolt of lightning burst from her open hand and shot towards the table, bouncing between pieces of what Charlotte realized were _iron_ eating utensils. Goblets and other glassware that were caught in the maelstrom of electricity exploded sending electrically charged blood and shards of glass shooting in all directions.

"They're not silver?" Charlotte spat, flipping to a new page in her Book of Binding, "Well, let's see how you like _this! Explosi—"_

"Charlotte stop! If you use a fire spell in here the entire room'll catch fire. I don't plan on getting barbequed alive here, so quit while you're ahead."

"Point taken."

Jonathan surveyed the room for signs of movement, not finding anything.

"_Spirit of Light!_"

Two sparks of light spun out of Charlotte's hand and twirled towards a space on the wall knocking Joachim away from his hiding position. Jonathan didn't hesitate before launching himself at the vampire, not waiting to give him the slightest chance of hiding again. The Vampire Killer lashed out, thirsty for the blood of its prey, biting at the diabolical opponent repeatedly until Joachim roared furiously and disappeared again. However his tactic of remaining hidden had already been countered once.

"_Spirit of Light!_"

The cat was already out of the proverbial bag. He couldn't hide anymore, and all it had taken to crush his tactic was a spell that even a novice could cast. The thought infuriated Joachim.

Once again he was assaulted by that divine whip. Somewhere in his mind, he recalled that this weapon had already been used against him once before, and even though it wasn't nearly as powerful back then, that bastard Leon Belmont had still killed him with it! Disgusting! This was unacceptable! Summoning more energy than before, he disappeared, but this time with a new purpose. The girl began to cast that pathetic spell that had undermined him. Which was exactly what he wanted. Before she could even complete the incantation, he lunged towards her from the shadows behind her. By the time he was done with her, her mangled corpse would be unrecognizable as having ever been human.

"Charlotte! _Move!_"

Charlotte turned around too late and Joachim was upon her. Only at the very last moment did the vampire realize that something had quickly wrapped itself around his body. And it stung like a motherf—

"This damned whip!"

"Yep! This damned whip!" Jonathan agreed mockingly, "It's showtime!"

He yanked the whip back towards himself and swung it with all his might 320 degrees, sending Joachim smashing across the table, knocking plates, cutlery and glasses everywhere and yanking part of the tablecloth with him as he slid off the tabletop, further adding to the mess. This was looking bad for him. He needed to win this! It had taken hundreds of years just to return to this world! He'd sooner mutilate his own body in unspeakable ways than go back to being manservant to that gigantic reptilian bastard, Galamoth. He'd never forgive the scum for forcing him to dress up in a maid's outfit for misbehaving. All he had tried to do was usurp his position. Heaven knows that he deserved it more. This thought in mind, he roared furiously, and charged towards Jonathan, grabbing him by the throat and tossing him all the way up to collide with the high ceiling.

"Jonathan! Are you alright?"

There was no answer as his body fell limply back down, getting caught on one of the unlit chandeliers.

"_No! Jonathan!_ Answer me!"

"Are you blind, girl? The whelp is dead, just as you will soon be."

She howled in rage, glancing up at the body…only to have it wave at her, as Jonathan pointed beneath the chandelier. She was about to smile before Jonathan shook his head. He let his tongue loll out the side of his mouth, made a show of being limp and winked at her. The message was clear.

She hissed furiously at the murderous vampire and lashed out with several blasts _Raging Fire_, following up on each of her spells with a slash by a number of spectral weapons from her compiled Tome of Arms.

"Murderer!" she shouted tearfully, "I won't forgive you, you bastard!"

Joachim would have laughed if her movements hadn't seemed so coordinated; he was driven further and further back towards to center of the room, actually being forced to climb over the table. He was about to drop off the other side when something wrapped itself around his neck.

_What!_

Joachim looked up to see a very much alive Jonathan Morris hanging upside down from one of the chandelier's rungs holding his Vampire Killer in his right hand and the Nebula whip in his left, both of which were wrapped tightly around his neck. He clawed at the two whips to no avail as he felt his feet leave the ground. Joachim's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he realized what the hunter was in a position to do.

"You fell for it, beast," Charlotte glared at the vampire, "Your time's up."

Joachim's face contorted into a mask of fear and hatred, but that only lasted an instant. Jonathan gave a swift tug on both whips. There was a sharp '_crack!'_ and the despicable vampire went limp, his head lolling backwards at a very unnatural angle.

"Nice acting Charlotte," Jonathan said with a grin.

"Oh, it was nothing. I just pretended that you really were dead and it came naturally to me."

Jonathan didn't know whether to feel flattered or gravely offended. He settled on just giving Charlotte his 'kicked puppy look.'

"Oh, don't give me that!"

"Fine," Jonathan whined, "So do you want to go find the others?"

"Sure, I hope they didn't have quite as much trouble as we did."

That was Stella's cue to enter the room with Loretta slung over her shoulder.

"Yipes! I just had to say it didn't I?" Charlotte groaned, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and forefinger before pinching the bridge of her nose, "Where have you been up till now, and what happened to her?"

"We ran into a colossal dryad-thing. We killed it but it was hard as hell, and Loretta collapsed."

"Hey Charlotte, did you notice that the stairs leading to the top of the castle are only two rooms away?"

"No, but that doesn't matter, we still need to find Maria and Alucard. I wonder what they've run into. Considering both of our encounters, I doubt it was anything pleasant. Jonathan, come with me. We'll go find them while Stella takes care of Loretta. That's okay with you right?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>"I don't understand what is so frightening to that woman? While it may be abnormally large, gorillas are gentle creatures."<p>

"Not this one so much."

The camera cut to show King Kong's head as he began to eat one of the men.

"Omnivore or not, no gorilla would ever actually eat another primate. Suspension of disbelief can only go so far."

"Honestly, just because you totally know everything doesn't mean that the general population of the United States of America have anything but lead for brains. This is a good movie."

"And I cannot imagine why."

"There you guys are!" Charlotte walked in before noticing the running projector, "_What the—! What the hell do you think you're doing! _Do you know what the other four of us have had to go through? Me and Jonathan had to fight _another_ vampire _on our own_, Loretta's unconscious after she and Stella encountered a gargantuan plant monster, _and you two have been sitting here watching a movie!_"

"I thought it would be a good learning experience for Alucard," Maria defended.

"Look, I need the two of you in peak condition if we want to get out of here alive, but the minute we get out of this castle, I will _murder_ you!" Charlotte roared with unbridled fury.

"Uh, Charlotte," Jonathan walked in dragging a pair of skeletons behind him tossing them at his partner who immediately impaled them both with her Tome of Arms.

"That's not going to cool me off, Jonathan."

"In my defense, I thought I should at least try. We don't need you losing your temper. Besides, who died and made you leader?"

"Well, if we're speaking theatrically, you did. Quite well actually."

"Sheesh, come on," Jonathan groaned, "you don't get to make those calls. You'll regret it anyway."

Charlotte seemed to bristle with indignation.

"Let's just get going," she grumbled, "Follow Jonathan. He knows the way."

* * *

><p>Stella was still tending to Loretta when she was graced with an unexpected visitor. She gasped, jumping between her sister and the familiar vampire, Valmanway and Joyeuse drawn.<p>

"Well, I suppose it would have been more ideal to not be seen doing this," Alastor chuckled malevolently, "But if I wait any longer, his soul will separate from his body and I won't be able to take it for my circle. Worry not, I don't come for your blood on this night."

"What are you planning? What do you mean by your 'circle?'" Stella demanded.

"Please accept my deepest apologies," drawled the vampire, "I'd hate to ruin the suspense."

There was the sound of glass shattering and Death swooped into the darkened dining hall.

"It seems as though you enjoy being dramatic, Bernhard. You're far more similar to my master than you like to believe."

"You dare compare me to that Cronqvist slime!" Alastor bellowed, his calm façade broken, "I'll make sure you'll regret that!"

"You forget your place, Alastor! You are nothing but an upstart trying to usurp my master's power." Death raised his scythe and pointed it at the vampire, "Your day of reckoning is almost upon you. If it were not for that sword you carry, I would tear your soul asunder here and now. Consider yourself lucky."

"You give me far too little credit. I'm far more prepared for any intervention that you or your hunter pawns have in store than you could even comprehend."

"I hate to side with you, Death, but his ego just soared through the roof," Stella chuckled.

"There's no more room for delay. You've wasted too much time!" Alastor hissed. He stepped towards Joachim's corpse and stabbed it with his sword.

At last, Stella knew what the terrifying sound they had all heard previously was.

"Farewell mortals and senile spirit," the red haired vampire said snidely before vanishing into a cloud of bats.

"Senile?" Death muttered furiously, "The nerve of that whelp. He'll see who loses in the end." the world around the Reaper grew distorted and when it came back into focus, he was gone.

There was a groan behind Stella as her sister finally regained consciousness.

"Sister? Is everything alright? Where are we now?"

Stella turned to look at her sister, her eyes softening with relief.

"We're fine, Loretta. We beat the plant girl and we both got out of it no worse for wear," Stella was silent for a moment but upon realizing what she had said she stammered, "For the most part at least. I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me."

"It's alright Stella, we're both alive and that counts for a lot in this place."

The younger Lecarde groaned, arching her back to get rid of the cramps that came from lying on the floor and sat up, propping herself up on her hands.

"Where are the others?" she asked, noticing the absence of their companions.

Stella found that she was actually puzzled by her sister's inquiry.

"That's actually a good question. I haven't seen Maria or Alucard since we split up and Jonathan and Charlotte went to go look for them almost half an hour ago. They should be back by now, providing that Maria didn't wander off to another part of the castle."

"She didn't," grumbled a voice from the doorway. The sisters turned to see Charlotte following Jonathan in to the banquet hall from the room beyond, "They were watching _King Kong_." Charlotte's face contorted in irritation as she said this.

"Without us? That's not fair, that's a great movie!" Stella said disappointedly before getting a glare from Charlotte.

"You must admit though, sister; watching a movie in this castle is quite irresponsible. Especially when you have companions waiting for you," Loretta said disapprovingly, giving a hard, though not unkind stare to Maria. She was about to apologize when—

"Your blame is misplaced. Maria was not really the one who suggested we participate in this activity. I was the one who actually thought it might be a valuable learning experience about contemporary human culture. She merely told me what the device did."

Maria stood dumbstruck, fighting to regain her composure.

"Maria, you're _really_ too old to have other people lying to defend you," Charlotte said coldly.

"I am being completely honest. I imagine that her surprise is mostly due to the fact that I have avoided showing gallant behavior towards her," as Alucard said this, he gave Maria a look.

"Yeah, that too–––out sums it up," Maria stumbled, hoping that nobody caught her mistake.

"I'm not letting you off the hook," Charlotte said warningly, "I'm just extending the line until we finish our job here. Then I'm reeling you back in."

"…er, alright?" Maria said, her voice teetering between the tones between question and statement.

"Good. Now that that's been taken care of, we can get back to business, "Charlotte announced with a sudden bravado, "Jonathan, you said the stairs to the top of the castle were in one of the nearby rooms, right?"

"Yeah, so we'd best be ready for a hard fight. Once we get up there, we don't know what we'll be facing. Alastor is a very strong vampire, and he's amplifying his dark powers using the power of the castle. He could have any number of nasty tricks waiting for us."

He walked over to one of the doors and threw it open, revealing a sanctuary and beyond that, a great flight of stairs leading up towards the pinnacle.

"This is it. Are we all ready?" Jonathan asked, "No one's got a problem, right?"

There was a round of collective yes-es followed by no-s.

"Perfect. Then we're heading up there now. Alastor's run out of strikes and we're taking him out."

* * *

><p><strong>I did my research. King Kong actually <em>was<em> out back then, not publicly available for non-exorbitant prices, but it's the kind of random thing you might find in the castle. I mean, Juste found a room that was specifically designed for him to decorate with furniture that he found around the rest of the castle, so why not a movie theater with a contemporary movie in them? For those who haven't seen the original King Kong, those were the opening twelve seconds in summary. Also, bonus points to anyone who can guess which records couldn't have actually existed back then. Send it in a review. Anyway...**

**Next time, on Castlevania: Nocturne of Ruin: With all other loose ends cleaned up, the final battle begins, but what **_**is**_** Alastor's master plan? And are the hunters even able to defeat someone who can destroy them completely by just scratching them with his sword? **  
><strong>Find out in <strong>_**Chapter XX: Toccata of Nightmares, the Final Movement!**_

**Oh yeah, and before I forget, I notice that my story actually gets a fair number of favorites and story alerts, but despite this fact I have only twenty-eight reviews (as of July 26th 2012), most from some anonymous guy who leaves rather obnoxiously short quips of adoration. Please people, give me some feedback. It's easier than ever now too: The text box is on the same page! *goes into hysterics* **

**Sorry 'bout that, but seriously, there's a box for writing your thoughts and opinions right under the next sentance, so please make use of it. I thought I was above begging for reviews. Apparently, I'm not.**


	20. Chapter XX: Second Toccata

**Author's Note: Wow. I posted this extremely late. What I did was not cool. I just hope that this chapter makes up for it's overdue status with its quality.**

**Chapter XX**

**Toccata of Nightmares: The Second Movement**

* * *

><p>The six hunters stood at the base of the open stairwell. Fork lightning split the sky around the top of the castle, though no rain fell. The thunder was deafening, but they were too fixated on their goal to pay it any attention. After what seemed like an eternity of simply staring up the long flight of stairs to the pinnacle, Jonathan took the first step and began his ascent, and the others just followed his lead. He reached into his bag, deciding that he wouldn't use the Vampire Killer, but for some reason, his hands couldn't grasp anything else. It was as though the whip was trying to ensure that it was the weapon that would kill Alastor of its own will. Jonathan shrugged off the thought, dismissing it as fantastical. He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely even realized that he'd reached the top of the stairs and would have walked into a door if Charlotte hadn't grabbed hold of his shoulder.<p>

"Oh…uh…thanks. Sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Honestly, you're clueless right to the very end."

They opened the double-doors and were nearly staggered by the dark aura that overflowed out of the room.

"I can't see a thing!" Jonathan choked out.

It's t-too hard to breath—" Charlotte gasped, holding onto Jonathan's shoulder for support, only for his legs to give out. Both of them fell to the color coughing uncontrollably.

"I can take care of this," Alucard stepped forward. Maria reached out towards him, but her gesture went unnoticed.

"Dark powers, heed your true master and obey the Prince of the Night!" Alucard's already deep voice took on an even deeper, even demonic quality, "Dissipate and hinder me no more!"

This new voice chilled Maria to the bone but she noticed that somehow, a part of her found it almost…sexy. _'Ahh! Bad Maria! Bad! Don't think things like that! That is _so_ inappropriate!'_

The darkness wafted away, bending to Alucard's near indomitable will. Charlotte and Jonathan found they could breathe again and began taking greedily deep breaths, urgently refilling their lungs. Once the smoke had cleared and the two incapacitated hunters had recovered they stepped forward. Their target waited inside. He lounged in the throne normally occupied by the Dark Lord. Alucard noticed that he was even mimicking his father's infamous pose; one leg crossed over the other as he leaned on one of the arms of the throne, head held in his left hand, with a wine goblet filled with blood in his right.

"I even perform Mathias' own gestures better than he himself does them. What a—"

"Be silent, you abominable wretch! While I hold no respect for my father's behavior, the fact remains that you're nothing more than a usurper."

Alastor jumped to his feet indignantly, "How dare—"

"Close your mouth and listen to me; the final word is that as long as my father possesses the Crimson Stone, he alone is the master of Death. You have no such power. Compared to the true master of this castle, you're a weak little boy attempting to look taller by standing on a chair."

"Damn you, son of Cronqvist!" Alastor howled, whipping the goblet in his right hand at Alucard's face, only for the glass to be knocked aside by the Alucard Sword. The vampire fumed for a moment before regaining his composure.

"I should get back to the more important matters. I do have guests to…entertain…after all. Consider this an honor! As soon as I tear this half-breed limb from limb you will all witness a performance that will rival the majesty of your idle God himself."

"Really, let's see the actors!" Jonathan taunted. The vampire's reaction was not what he expected. Alastor just smirked.

"I'm glad you asked," he said calmly. He raised an arm and a curtain that apparently had been hiding a fairly large area of the room began to rise. And on the other side were the bodies of…

"Are those…?!" Loretta gasped in horror.

"Camilla, Orlok, Lyudmil, and Joachim," Charlotte confirmed, but she was having difficulty holding the contents of her stomach down. Dark blood seeped steady from the wounds on their bodies, despite the fact that several of them had been dead for days, and the blood had spread almost across the entire room.

The vampires were nailed to crucifixes that were arranged at the points of a pentagram, the center of which was struck with a sword with a blood-red ruby encrusted in its pommel. One point of the pentagram was empty however. No crucifix was struck into the floor there. Jonathan wondered why the pattern was inconsistent there.

The moment Alucard saw the sword, he could tell something was seriously wrong with it. He lunged forward, desperate to confiscate the diabolic tool from the hands of the vampire. With a laugh, Alastor dissolved into a flock of bats, reforming right in front of the sword, plucking it from its place in the stonework just before Alucard could reach it.

"Alucard! Get away from there! I'm not sure, but based on what I saw him do to Joachim with that sword, if that blade so much as scratches you it'll rip your soul right out of your body!"

"Is that all? I've faced things that would make you die of fright where you stood. Simple mortal peril is child's play."

The Vampire Killer suddenly tugged itself forwards, pulling Jonathan with it. "What the—" he yelped as his body moved on its own. He was fighting in a completely different style than he usually fought with when wielding a whip.

His mind was assaulted with images of a young woman. A medieval noble maybe? But why would he be seeing something like a medieval woman in his head?

And then, in a single moment of clarity, it made perfect sense. He was about to tell Charlotte not to worry and explain the situation when she blurted it out first.

"I think… No, I'm sure! That's the whip's memory of Leon Belmont fighting! That and the spirit of Sara who lives on inside the Vampire Killer!"

"Hey, _I_ was going to say that!" Jonathan whined.

* * *

><p>Alucard was presently engaged in a blindingly fast sword duel with Alastor. The Damascus Sword and the Alucard Sword were flying at each other without any noticeable response time. Jonathan thought this would be an advantage for him when he joined the fray, but before the whip made its mark Alastor pivoted his body behind Alucard who back-dashed out of the way of the strike and then flipped over the vampire's head, landing in front of him and pressing the offensive, driving Alastor backwards. The vampire only snickered derisively however.<p>

"_Lunar Hellfire!_" Alastor burst towards his dhampir opponent and sent a barrage of crescent shaped firebolts towards him. Alucard jumped into the air himself to avoid the burning projectiles, only for them to follow him. And it only got worse when Alastor materialized in front of him and knocked the Alucard Sword clean out of his hand. Alucad managed to recover just in time to give his enemy a sharp kick, causing Alastor's follow-up to miss its mark, merely cutting off some hair, rather than removing Alucard's head from his shoulders —and, Alucard mused, sucked out his soul as well.

"By the time I've finished with you, you could be put in a box labeled 'some assembly required!" Alastor giggled at his own awful joke.

"Give it a rest you big windbag!" Jonathan shouted, landing a hit with the Vampire Killer. Alastor went wide-eyed, apparently appalled that his opponents had actually managed to land a hit on him. This gave Alucard the opportunity to slash ferociously at the vampire. Alastor didn't remain vulnerable for long however. With a cackle, his body dissipated into a swarm of ethereal black bats and reemerged behind Jonathan. Charlotte decided it was her turn to join the fight and apparently so did Stella. Both swords drawn, she threw a Furious Wave at Alastor. Unfortunately, he managed to slice the storm-force winds it in half with a single swipe of his blade. And he _still_ managed to evade or parry most of Alucard and Jonathan's attacks.

"This ends now!" Charlotte cried out, "Raging Fire!"

Her immensely powered up spell was unavoidable. Alastor transformed once again into a flock of bats but once he rematerialized, he found that he was still completely scorched. He was consoled by the fact that all the other combatants except for Jonathan were in the same condition.

"Was that really necessary?" Stella asked grumpily.

"Well, at least I actually landed a hit on him!" Charlotte retorted herself.

"Y-you trashy little…what the hell am I doing! We have a common enemy here. We can start a gossip war later; now, that vampire dies!"

Loretta sighed as she stared at her sister, "This is the woman who's shadow I may very well always live in."

"Aww, c'mon Loretta, you don't know that," Maria said cheerfully.

Meanwhile, Alastor had returned to his fight with Alucard while Jonathan and Stella attacked in turn. The vampire had begun to use his bat-swarm tactic very frequently, transforming into a flock every second time he was about to get hit. He didn't hesitate to attack after reforming either. He practically reappeared in mid-slash, and it was nearly impossible to block his attacks without having to dodge them entirely.

Suddenly, they were given a saving grace as Charlotte cried out:

"_Sanctuary!_"

Based on previous experience, Jonathan was half-expecting Alastor to wither and die, like most other opponents that Charlotte had used that spell near. However, he simply transformed into a flock of bats…all of which promptly died.

"Dammit!" he roared, the dead bats transforming back into his body. He tried transforming again, but he simply wasn't capable of performing the proper magic any longer. His bat-transformation ability had been killed with the spectral flock. He parried several attacks by both Alucard and Stella and then leaped out of the way of the Vampire Killer as Jonathan, or maybe it was the Belmont's or Trantoul's spirit, lunged at him. He found himself backed against a wall, and jumped clear over the fighters' heads and landing behind them. He was mortified that he hadn't landed a hit against any of the hunters, but this thought only fueled his determination to slaughter them all. His next lunge was cut short as one of the hunters impaled him from behind. Turning his head he snarled at the transgressor in question. "Cronqvist scum!" Alucard didn't even dignify him with a response, merely yanking his sword out of his gut and readying himself for another attack.

And then, the Damascus Sword began to glow.

A read and black aura simply began pouring out of it, flowing steadily outwards and fading after it got a few feet away. The screams they heard before throughout the castle could faintly be heard coming from the blade, much softer than normal, but the hunters all noticed that they were slowly but steadily growing louder.

"Such a beautiful sound, the terrified screams of tortured souls. It means the ritual is almost ready to begin. All I need is…" he trailed off, "Well, I'd hate to kill the suspense. Sadly, I can no longer afford to let this sword strike anything but the flesh of my final sacrifice, so I'll need to use something else."

"Didn't Alucard just like, stick a sword through your pancreas or something?" Stella asked obnoxiously, "And what the hell do you mean by 'sacrifice?'"

"Patience. You can see what I mean for yourself soon enough," he said in the tone one would use with a child, but the malevolent hiss always present in his voice never faltered, "It will be one of the last things you shall ever experience in this world, so I would _so hate_ to spoil it for you."

"Damn it, tell us now!" Jonathan demanded, his words were echoed threefold by the spectral voices of Sara and Leon.

Alastor just smirked and strolled casually to the center of the pentagram, where he struck the Damascus Sword back into the spot he had taken it from. He then drew a nearly identical sword from a scabbard at his hip. The only real difference between the two swords was that the one he now held had an emerald in its pommel instead of a blood ruby. Without any warning whatsoever, he collided with Jonathan, knocking him to the ground.

"_Sole darkness that this boy possesses, come to your new master,_" Alastor commanded, from somewhere on his person, the Darkfire Whip, an experimental weapon Charlotte had synthesized using the Flame Whip and the Jet Black Whip as materials, flew into Alastor's free hand. He kicked off of Jonathan and made a move towards Alucard when he noticed the blonde haired wench standing off to the side, utterly defenseless. He grinned wickedly and leaped at her. She didn't have time to react. All she could do was scream.

And then something very strange happened.

* * *

><p>Everything went black. She did notice however, that something was glowing from behind her.<p>

"So, _you're_ my reincarnation. Oh! _Yay!_ You look just as good as I did in that outfit!"

Maria whipped around, turning to face the speaker. And it was like looking into a mirror.

"Are you…?"

"Maria Renard. Pleased to meet you. Your name is Mariabella Fox, but you prefer just Maria, right?

"Uh…yeah…before you say anything else, could you answer one question for me?"

"Alright; shoot."

"Am I dead?"

The other Maria stood there for a second. Then she began laughing hysterically.

"No, of course not!" she gasped out between giggles, clutching her side, "Not nearly. You're just here because I called you here. I can't have you dying on me or I won't be able to spend any more time with Alucard."

"…Right…"

"What's wrong? Talk to you're old pal Maria."

"Well…you're me. Shouldn't you know?"

"What do you think I am? A perfect copy of you? I don't know everything about you. I just get to live through you every once in a while."

"Then you should still know!" Maria shouted at her predecessor.

"Look, just tell me," the other Maria asked, an air of exasperation creeping into her voice.

"Well…I'm kind of having an identity crisis. Am I myself, or am I just you?"

The other Maria stood there for a little while with her head cocked to the side in thought. After what seemed like an eternity to Maria, her doppelganger finally responded.

"Well, while I can't say I've never influenced your behavior, I can still reassure you that you have nothing to worry about. Just because you're my reincarnation doesn't make you…er…_me_. You're _you_, and nobody else. Never forget that, I don't want to have to repeat myself like how I had to whenever Alucard had an episode where he would start thinking that he would inexplicably take his father's place as the bane of all mankind one day." the ramble began, "Tall dark and broody. It's like he never grew out of the teen angst phase. Must have been from the constant sleeping."

"You really _are_ a lot like me," Maria giggled.

"Other way around darling."

"Uh…sure. But why did you call me here only a second before Alastor chopped my head off?"

"Well, that's the other reason I called you here. This whole conversation is taking place over the course of a nanosecond. I'm going to set our connection to break the moment you finish saying the following incantation…So don't worry about a thing. Alastor is in for one red hot surprise."

And with that, the other Maria grinned cheerfully and vanished into the void.

* * *

><p>The hunters looked on in horror as Alastor's sword arm prepared for the slash that would Maria's life.<p>

But now Maria was prepared:

"_O eternal bird who burns bright as the Heavens, erupt into holy flames of glory! Rise from your ashen slumber and smite the darkness in your wake! Arise, O Brilliant Phoenix!"_

As Maria finished chanting, she reawakened as the sword began its arc. It never continued as a massive blaze erupted from Maria's body and carried Alastor across the room, knocking him into a wall, everyone watched in awe as the flames took the shape of a majestic fiery bird crying out in victory.

"Now _go!_ Burn him to a smouldering crisp!"

The phoenix nodded as it let loose a continuous blast of fire from its beak while Alastor could do nothing but howl in pain and astonishment.

"That's enough!" Alastor roared. His body began to glow with an eerie blue light, and they were all forced to jump back when a pair of monstrous batlike wings tore themselves out from his back. His already visible fangs grew longer and his teeth sharper as his mouth and head elongated into a snout. Bovine horns sprouted from the back of his head. Skin and armor melded together into coal-black scales as his body transformed into something akin to a twisted reptilian minotaur. His arms continued to extend until they nearly reached the ground from a standing position, and his hands grew into almost disproportionately large paws with claws the length of falchions. With a bellow he charged towards the group and swung slashed them all with his claws in a single swipe, knocking them backwards. He pushed off the ground before any of them could recover and landed between Alucard and Stella. Raising his arms, he swung downwards and crushed both of them beneath his paws leaving his prey unconscious in craters he had made in the stonework.

Jonathan didn't hesitate to strike with the Vampire Killer, eliciting a roar from the monster that Alastor had transformed into. The demonic creature recovered quickly however, and took to the air using his gigantic wings. He dove towards Jonathan with all the force of a stampede, knocking another member of their crew out.

Charlotte realized that the creature was to quick for her to have enough time to use her magic and took out her completed Tome of Arms, using the myriad of weapons within to attack him, however, just like the other attacks, it was brushed off. Before he had a chance to incapacitate Charlotte however, he was blasted with a massive shard of ice.

"Loretta!" Charlotte cried in relief.

The next huge ice shard shot forward. However Alastor was ready for it this time, and to Loretta's utter astonishment, he knocked the mass of ice she had created directly back at her, pinning her beneath her own spell.

The phoenix had been circling the room. It still hadn't found a good opening, and had been waiting for Maria to provide it with instructions, but she was preoccupied with tending to Alucard. Every so often his body would seem to pulse, and she was trying to figure out what was happening to him when a shriek came from Charlotte's direction, as Alastor bucked her into a wall, using his horns to do extra damage. Maria gasped as Charlotte fell limply to the floor. They were losing.

"Come on, Alucard! You can save us! I know you can! You just have to wake up!"

And then, with a sound like a massive heartbeat, Alucard's eyes shot open. And they were glowing a terrifying red. Maria stood back, feeling like she knew what was about to happen. And she was right; wings burst from beneath his cape and he transformed into that huge gargoyle that he had become when he had been turned to stone. The beast that was Alucard roared ferociously as it rushed Alastor head on. The two beasts collided with a crash that sent shockwaves along the floor, carrying the unconscious hunters Almost immediately, the gargoyle overpowered the demon, holding it in place as Maria's phoenix dove in to deliver a scorching blow. Alucard grabbed Alastor by his horns and brought him to the floor before yanking sharply upwards. Maria was expecting the vampire's neck to break. It didn't but something else did.

To be more precise, two things broke as the horns on Alastor's head snapped off with a sickening, bone-shattering crunch. The vampire-turned-demon bellowed in pain and rage as he slashed at Alucard with his massive claws creating a brutal gash across the gargoyle's torso. He continued attacking mindlessly, pummeling Alucard with oversized fists. The Dhampir struggled to keep his balance while defending against blow after blow with his own arms.

Maria busied herself waking the other members of the group up, occasionally looking back to the fight to direct her phoenix.

Alucard leapt into the air, hovering using demonic energy more than the powerful beating of his massive wings. He suddenly twisted forward, and Alastor found himself in a position he would never have himself in: Having his neck bitten in the jaws of a vampire, or in this case, a vampiric beast. Using strength borne of unmitigated fright, he wrenched Alucard off of him and flung him to the floor. And to his horror, he found he could no longer maintain his demonic form. Alucard on the other hand simply transformed back into his human shape for lack of necessity. After all, he didn't need to take the energy consuming form of a demon when he had the support of five very prepared and conscious vampire hunters.

Alastor had never looked so worse for wear: His crimson hair was stained with twin trails of blood pouring from where his horns had been in his demon form, his cape was in tatters and his neck looked like it had been wrung out like a sponge, a trait that was now manifesting in a hollow sound whenever he inhaled.

"Not so tough now, are you, ya creep," Jonathan snarled.

"You can't win!" Alastor gasped hollowly in wide-eyed desperation, "I've prepared for all the possible outcomes!" he suddenly wretched and hacked up a handful of his own blood.

"Yeah, I beg to differ! Let's finish this!" Jonathan commanded.

"Certainly," Alucard said.

"With pleasure," Stella agreed.

Charlotte just began casting a spell.

"Blood sucking freak!"

"Vampire scum!"

"_Piercing Beam!"_

"Die, Bernhard!"

Two swords plunged through his armor one after the other as Stella get to him first, after which she hefted the Alucard Spear off of her back and pierced him again.

The Alucard Sword got him next as Alucard lunged forward, while Charlotte's spell hit simultaneously.

When the Vampire Killer struck, the assault was already approaching overkill. Of course, these hunters were not going to leave a job unfinished, and they were going to make sure that Alastor would never recover.

"Charlotte!"

"You ready, Jonathan?"

They joined hands in front of Alastor and raised their free arms skyward.

"_Grand Cross!_"

Alastor had never witnessed one of the Great Techniques of the Belmont Family, and had certainly never expected for one to be used on him, but for all the awe and terror he felt, he couldn't escape from his personal ground zero. Huge phantom crosses the size of cathedral monuments rose out of the floor and spiraled around him as they ascended toward the heavens, blessing the area around them with holy energy. It was like getting third degree sunburns, or so he figured, as he couldn't so much as set foot outside during daylight hours without disintegrating upon sunlight touching his skin. He couldn't even bring himself to scream.

But there was still time.

Even as the last holy emblems vanished into the sky, he forced himself to stand.

"I had hoped…to use Cronqvist's _dear son_… as the last…sacrificial…vampire," he croaked, even as his voice and body failed him, he still maintained his malevolence, "But there is still one more…" he struggled to move his leaden body towards the center of the pentagram.

"The Damascus Sword…was altered to…hold…the souls of those it cuts…so that the body…will remain alive…until it returns…" he struggled, "For the sacrifice to work, all the vampires…must be alive…at the time of completion. And that time…is…_now! My grandfather…shall once again be…the Dark Lord!_" Barely managing to hoist the Damascus Sword out of the floor, he plunged it into his own body.

The hunters watched Alastor in grim astonishment as the familiar howling came from his own body as it floated to a crucifix that materialized at the empty point of the pentagram where nails promptly drove themselves into his flesh. The Damascus Sword's aura erupted into a torrent of darkness and fear.

"What the hell!?"

"What did he just do!?"

"And what did he mean by…he couldn't mean—Oliver said—!"

"I have a _very_ bad feeling about this."

The aura swirled around and the screams had grown in volume to a fever pitch.

But they were drowned out by the diabolical laughter that came from within them.

Jonathan had felt the Vampire Killer's rage for the past several days. Now he felt its terror. Sara Trantoul was trying to warn him about something. But what?

The dark aura swirled inward and took the form of a man. But this was no ordinary human. Charlotte and Alucard recognized him from portraits of him shown in books they had read. Jonathan felt both Sara and Leon's memories.

"You're…Walter Bernhard!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: So who was expecting <strong>_**that**_** little plot twist? Next time on **_**Castlevania Nocturne of Ruin**_**; the return of Walter Bernhard, the second most powerful vampire to have ever existed!**


	21. Chapter XXI: Symphony of Terror

**Author's Note: Wow, this chapter wasn't easy. The 'A' and 'Shift' keys on my keyboard weren't working consistently when I wrote this, and despite being the intended climax, it didn't feel intuitive to write at all. Anyway, without further ado, I present to you the twenty first chapter. Also, sorry about it coming in so late. Next chapter'll be up December first, and the one after that'll be on Christmas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXI<strong>

**Symphony of Terror, Falling Into a Dark Night**

"You're…Walter Bernhard!"

"Well, it appears as though you know who I am already, so we can save time on the introductions. I don't need to know anything about you filthy humans after all."

"Such arrogance. I suppose it must be expected of a vampire however," Alucard said casually.

"It can't be…" came a new voice, "It c-can't be you!"

"Who…" Charlotte began before stopping short upon seeing the beautiful pale noblewoman standing next to Jonathan, "I recognize you! You're Sara Trantoul! I read about you in the books I've been studying! How are you— That confirms it! You really did become the Vampire Killer, didn't you?"

"There isn't time for me to answer your questions! You all have to run!" Sara shouted.

"But he's still weak from resurrection! If he's so powerful, now is the only time we'll _ever_ have a chance!" Charlotte argued, "Besides, you've fought him and won before! Why should now be any different?"

The projection of Sara didn't respond. She just vanished, and Jonathan stood on the spot, looking at the whip with a stupefied look on his face.

"Snap out of it!" Stella shouted furiously, "You'll get us all killed if you just stand around like a dunce! Jonathan Morris, _are you listening to me!_"

"I'm awake! I'm awake! No need to howl in my ear. Sheesh!"

"Then move your ass!"

"What annoying pests these humans are," Walter mused, "I shall have to dispose of you vermin before I die of irritation."

"Let's see you try!" Jonathan challenged him.

"You must seek death much more than I imagined. Prepare yourself! But know that your efforts are all in vain!" Walter roared with laughter as he dissipated into a swarm of bats similar to the technique used by his grandson.

"Heh, no you don't!" Charlotte finished casting the spell that she'd had time for while Walter had been focusing on her partner, "_Sanctuary!_"

The bats collided with the holy barrier. They then passed right through it as though it was a veil of tissue paper.

"What?" she shouted in astonishment as the demonic flock rushed through her and reformed into Walter's body behind her, poised to slash at her with his sword. She found herself paralyzed, her legs not responding to her commands, no matter how much she told them to dive out of the way.

"_Ice Plate!_"

The floor beneath both Charlotte and Walter suddenly froze over, their feet sliding out from under them. Charlotte suddenly found herself being picked up and skidding away. She looked up to see if her assumption was correct.

"Thanks, Loretta."

"No biggie. Just be more careful."

"How touching," Walter hissed as he slid over the ice and jumped to his feet, "Try this; _Bloodstorm!_"

"That's one of the abilities that Scarlet—"

Charlotte was cut off as what felt like boiling blood rained down on her, burning her on contact. Loretta on the other hand just spread her arms.

"_Bridge of Frost!_"

A thick arc of ice spread across the room shielding the hunters from the blood.

"Nice! You're on a roll Loretta!" Stella exclaimed proudly.

"Thank you sister!"

"Let's get to a higher perch," Stella decided, pointing at one of the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, one that hung close to Walter's current position. "Can you get us on top of that fixture?"

"Of course. I'll conjure some ice pillars. Be careful, we'll only have a few seconds on each of them before they disappear. I'm guessing that your idea fails if he notices us first, right?"

"You know me so well."

The vampire was about to finish casting, but was interrupted as Alucard and Maria crept up behind him.

"Hey, mosquito-freak! Bite _this!_" she grinned as her phoenix dived in front of her. Walter turned around just in time to see the phoenix rear back and watch Alucard vanish in a burst of light.

"Where—?"

"_Heavenly Hellfire!_" the two companions shouted in unison, Alucard's voice coming from directly behind him. He raised one side of his cape and the phoenix rushed towards the dhampir, seeming to explode upon contact. However, the flares that began to erupt from beneath his arm said otherwise as they all arced back toward him. Every one of the flames that hit him stuck to him like an adhesive, enveloping him in a shroud of fire until the phoenix erupted from his body, and dove straight through Walter's body back to Maria where it vanished into a veil of sparkles and white ash.

Alucard didn't hesitate to draw his heirloom sword and start attacking while Jonathan stood ready to assist him.

"What kind of scum uses his own flesh and blood as raw materials? You make me sick to my stomach," Alucard snarled, locking swords with the vampire.

"Why should you even care?" Walter growled back, "You abandoned your father to assist a filthy band of humans out to slay him! You should understand."

"I committed an abominable crime, but I did so to put an end to his suffering. You know nothing of my father's rage and despair!" he shouted back, putting more weight behind his sword.

"You put him out of his misery? How noble of you," Walter responded sarcastically, continuing to hold out against the dhampir.

"If I had done nothing, thousands, perhaps millions of people would have died! A triviality to dreck such as yourself, but I would not have their blood on my hands when I could prevent calamity."

"And is there a reason why you so adore this filth?" Walter changed the subject and pushed forward again and Alucard nearly stumbled but for Jonathan's intervention, slamming the Balmung down on top of the Damascus Sword, holding it in place.

"I don't adore them. They fall from grace and commit atrocities of their own, but I will honor my mother's dying words, and always have mercy on them, no matter how far they stray from the right path!" Alucard gave one final burst of strength and with Jonathan's help, managed to knock Walter backwards, taking the opportunity to land multiple hits against the vampire.

Jonathan replaced the Balmung with the Vampire Killer and lunged. Walter foolishly attempted to grab the whip and yank it out of his hands, but the whip burned him through his armor, making him drop the whip and clutch his hand in pain.

It was Charlotte who struck next, not bothering to chant out any arias and settled with unleashing a salvo of minor Spirit of Light spells. It wouldn't hurt quite as much, but it'd be harder for him to dodge, especially when he was preoccupied fending off Jonathan and Alucard.

"Yahhhh!" Stella roared as she leapt from on top the chandelier, her father's spear in hand as she crashed spear first into Walter, the huge blade of the Alucard Spear ripping through his body. Walter coughed up blood as she forcibly yanked the spear out of his body, though his wounds promptly knit themselves back together. Replacing the spear with Joyeuse and Valmanway she performed a swift series of slashes, most of which Walter blocked with the Damascus Sword. Suddenly he jumped lithely over her head and Stella pitched herself forward to avoid getting bisected, landing gracelessly on her side.

Loretta meanwhile shot off a volley of ice bolts from atop her perch on the chandelier, apparently hitting him. However, he just turned toward her and gave her a malevolent smirk. Not a moment later he was right in front of her, and would have hacked her into pieces but for Loretta tripping backwards from her perch and falling the twenty feet to the floor. The snap could be heard from anywhere in the room, and Stella was at her sister's side in an instant, with the intention of discerning which bones were broken. What none of them had seen was that in missing Loretta, he had consequently broken several most of the chains holding the chandelier in place, and the remaining links were now far overstrained. Walter left the timing to physics and surged towards Charlotte, wisps of darkness trailing behind him. Landing right in front of her, he extended his arm and grabbed her by the throat.

"Charlotte!" Jonathan called to her, but it was too late for a heroic rescue. There was a flash of light as two spells went off at once; one announced almost theatrically, the other choked out through constricted vocal chords.

"Nightmare Charge!"

"Ex…plosion…!"

Both Charlotte and Walter were set flying away from each other as their spells collided.

"Charlotte, are you alright?" Jonathan asked, his voice coated with worry, a hand held out to help her stand up.

"Eugh…" Charlotte coughed hoarsely and massaged her throat. "I…should be fine in a minute…I'll need you to cover me…until I can cast again though," she rasped, sore but otherwise alright. She took Jonathan's hand and pulled herself to her feet.

There was a clang of snapping metal as the chains on the chandelier broke and the whole fixture fell. Stella didn't have time to move. All she could do was watch wide-eyed as the whole thing fell toward her. It landed moments later, trapping both sisters underneath its weight.

"Stella! Loretta!"

"It's futile," drawled Walter, a cruel grin spreading across his face, "They're now nothing more than slabs of meat waiting for me to drain them."

"You filthy bastard!" Charlotte wheezed out as loud as she could with her compromised throat. "Can I use this? We only have six left," she asked Jonathan, holding a potion her hand.

"No problem, just get casting! Now!"

"Right," Charlotte drained the potion in one gulp and pulled out her spellbook. "That feels better. Now, let's try something new. _Spirits of fire, answer my call and bring Hell to earth for my enemies! Flames of Judgment!_"

She spun around, her right hand extended above her head as a huge salvo of shining bolts of fire and lightning flew from her fingertips and arced towards Walter, pummeling him and forcing him to the floor. With a roar, Walter rose into the air, his cape billowing out behind him despite the lack of wind. Black miasma suddenly began to flow from his body. Vanishing from his spot in the air, he warped between Charlotte and Jonathan, blasting off wave after wave of dark energy at them.

'_Dammit! Why did I have to lose my _Clear Skies _spell?'_ Charlotte mentally berated herself even as the dark energy hit her and she collapsed, her body beginning to go numb.

Jonathan on the other hand did something that Walter didn't expect; Instead of trying to shield himself or just choking, he charged headlong at the dark projectiles, jumping and sliding to avoid them with wicked precision before finally leaping into the air, vaulting off of Walter's shoulders and prepared to block the rest of the attacks being directed at Charlotte by any means necessary. Until Alucard came between them himself and raised his heirloom shield, deflecting the billowing black energy back at the vampire. They didn't do any real damage to a creature of pure darkness, but they didn't hit the pair of endangered vampire hunters either.

Walter cleared the air in front of him with a dramatic sweep of his cape in time to see Alucard come flying at him, sword coming down in a diagonal arc. He brought the Damascus Sword up and used it to block the strike and continued to cross blades with the dhampir, steel clanging against steel every other second as they both attacked each other with equal ferocity.

Charlotte summoned every ounce of strength in her body and shook the numbness away.

"Jonathan, get ready! Maria? You still with us?"

"Alright."

"Duh!"

"Then let's go!"

"Mind if I don't use my dragon's full power?"

"Will he still be able to do anything?" Jonathan asked, earning a dirty look from Maria.

"Of course, you dolt! I just want to make sure that there's enough room to keep fighting properly. If my dragon goes Zodiac there won't be enough room for it to move! Well technically there will, but you get my drift!"

"Yeah, yeah, got it, sheesh!"

"Come on, hurry up!" called an exasperated Charlotte.

"On it!" Maria chirped, beginning her incantation: "_From thy lair in the mountains I call upon thee who hath slain countless knights and guarded treasures beyond imagination: Come to me, my Noble Dragon!_" a green and red glyph drew itself on the floor and with a mighty roar, a European-style dragon, the same shade of green as the glyph, rose out of the stonework, its leathery wings folded against its sides.

"Now _that's_ cool!" Jonathan cheered. If Charlotte hadn't known better, she would have sworn that she saw the dragon give him an arrogant smirk. But that was impossible. And naturally, it had to have been a coincidence that it folded its arms just a moment later. Paying no attention to any of this, Maria put a hand on its back, just above the wing joint and pointed at Walter with her other hand.

"You ready to roast this freak?"

The dragon gave her a look that clearly said '_Do you have to ask?' _and took to the air with a roar.

Alucard, who continued to hold most of Walter's attention locked swords with the vampire, forcing him to add extra focus to his balance and ensuring that they others would have ample time to launch an attack. Which they did. The vampire was aware of the events that had unfolded while his back was turned so to speak, but he was unable to pay it the necessary attention.

The dragon circled around and, taking aim at Walter, exhaled a jet of fire.

"Showtime!" Jonathan called out triumphantly as the dragonfire began burning the vampire. He lunged, the Vampire Killer swinging terrifically.

"_Piercing Beam!_"

Walter took all of it, and hissed in both pain and fury.

They prepared for another attack and were about to deliver what they hoped would be a finishing blow, only to have Walter transform into flock of bats. They recomposed in the center of the room and the four remaining hunters turned to face him.

And then he did something that none of them expected:

He fled.

He threw open the throne room doors and raced down the stairs leading back into castle. Alucard immediately vanished and reappeared in front of him, hitting him with a barrage of fireballs. Paying little attention to this, he leaped off the staircase and dropped several meters onto the castle rooftop. He grinned. He looked like he was trying to escape, but he had something else in mind entirely. His plan of action would ensure that he would become the Dark Lord once again. And the only thing he needed for his plan to succeed had been so thoughtfully brought to this very castle.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to any of the hunters, and far below everyone and everything in the castle, in the very deepest catacombs that none had ever ventured into in any of the castle's incarnations, something stirred. The red glow it produced was bright enough to illuminate the cavern even from within its place inside an ancient sarcophagus. And despite all the power it held, it wasn't nearly ready to be disturbed.<p> 


	22. Chapter XXII: Pathway of the Damned

**Author's Note: Sorry, but at least this time I'm only a day late. Also, about posting on Christmas, that might not happen. My dad would never let me use a computer at home, especially not to post this fanfiction that I started "three" years ago and clearly don't ever plan on finishing (because I totally **_**don't**_ **want to become a professional writer, I just want to keep writing a fanfic about a series that I'm getting rather bored with). And yes, I'm being sarcastic about the three years thing. He kind of pissed me off today and broke my concentration three times and so thanks to him, chapter 23 isn't finished as of today.**

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><p><strong>Chapter XXII<strong>

**Pathway of the Damned**

Charlotte, Jonathan and Maria gaped at the vampire as he leapt from the great staircase.

"Okay, I can honestly say that I was _not_ expecting him to do that," Jonathan said in bemusement, "So, er, no pinning this on me, alright?" Charlotte rolled her eyes and just ran to the door shouting challenges, most of them being along the lines of, "_Get back here you coward!"_ and "_You're not even worth the effort!"_

Jonathan on the other hand hurried over to the fallen chandelier to deal with the more pressing issue. He took a quick glance at Stella and Loretta, unconscious and bleeding profusely as gravity pulled mercilessly on the heavy light fixture that would easily crush them to death if it weren't removed. Loretta had a gaping wound on her left shoulder and he wretched, tears coming to his eyes as he saw that the foot on her left leg had been smashed flat like soft clay at the shin. Stella looked like she probably had numerous broken bones, but he couldn't be sure. He _did_ know that she had serious gashes on her right arm and the right side of her torso that were spilling more blood on the floor with every heartbeat. "Charlotte, get over here now. The Lecarde sisters are done for if we don't do something quickly."

Charlotte hurried over to the sisters, but looked up at Maria before actually getting ready to help.

"Follow Alucard. Make sure that Walter doesn't escape!"

"Uh, right!" Maria gave a swift nod and then dashed out the open doors, hurrying to catch up with the Dhampir, her dragon flying a few paces ahead of her.

"Charlotte! Stop giving orders and just help me move the chandelier!"

"Alright then," she took hold of the bottom of the heavy fixture beside Jonathan.

"_Heave!_" the shouted together. Slowly but surely, the chandelier began to rise until finally, Jonathan put his whole body into one last shove, sending the whole thing toppling over backwards away from the sisters.

"So how do they look?" Jonathan asked worriedly.

Charlotte gave them a once-over and shook her head, "I can heal them, but…"

"'But' what?!"

She looked at Loretta. Without the chandelier covering it, it was now clearly visible that even her brown knee-high hiking boot was completely flattened. It had also turned completely red from being saturated with blood.

"Loretta's leg; it's…gone. There's nothing I can do. It's been flattened. Even if we _could_ rebuild the bone structure, the flesh and muscle's irreparable. It'll probably have to come off below the knee."

"Did you pack any bandages? I don't think potions are going to do the job this time around. And if these wounds aren't closed…no, I don't want to even think about that."

"Don't worry, I packed some in case of emergencies just like this," Charlotte assured him opening the Book of Binding to the _Heal_ spell, "_In the name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, I beg thee to put an end to pain. Heal!"_

The wounds glowed slightly, and there was a slight cracking sound as a few bones fit themselves back into place, though they didn't heal. The wound on Loretta's shoulder closed completely, but Stella's seemed to fail in this regard, still bleeding, though not as violently as before.

"Okay, get the bandages out."

Jonathan reached into his bag and pulled out a roll of gauze, handing it to Charlotte immediately.

To his surprise, she waited, giving him a look.

"What?"

A vein pulsed in her temple, as though she couldn't believe that she actually had to explain it to him. "I'll have to undress her to put these on. Leave the room."

"Oh! Uh, okay."

Anxious to avoid getting turned into toast, he hurried out through the open throne room doors and closed them behind him.

* * *

><p>After watching Alucard jump from the stairs, Maria decided that she needed a new plan. That plan formulated itself in her dragon's mind when it landed in front of her and arced its back toward her, turning its head to look her straight in the eyes.<p>

"Okay, I may have been on a power trip last time. I'm sorry, but I'm not so sure I'm able to do that again. Especially when you're so much smaller in your normal state."

The dragon gave her an unimpressed half-lidded gaze and snorted, a puff of smoke rising from its nostrils.

"What?! You were much bigger in your Zodiac form!"

The dragon huffed and took matters into its own hands. Or rather its tail, which it swept her legs out from under her with. She fell forward, landing square on the dragon's back.

"Hold on! I didn't agree to this!" she hooked her arms around the beast's neck for dear life.

Ignoring her terrified pleas, it took off and went straight into a dive, following the flashes of light that revealed Alucard's location on the rooftops below as he used his _Hellfire_ spell.

As it leveled out, Maria managed to get a grip on herself and finally stopped screaming. "Thank you for nothing…you useless reptile…" she said between breaths.

Catching up to the dhampir and his vampiric target took only a few more seconds, once they were in range, the dragon opened fire on Walter, spewing a volley of fireballs at the vampire.

Walter adopted an almost lazy pose, and started drifting backwards away from Alucard, just slightly faster than the melancholy prince could keep up with. He raised his hand and shot off a barrage of negative energy bolts at Maria's dragon, sending it veering away and maneuvering unsteadily to avoid the homing projectiles. It then came to a sly conclusion. Dropping in altitude until it was just a few feet above the roof, it did a barrel roll, dropping Maria unceremoniously onto the slanted platform, at which point it turned around and flew in a quick circle around the cluster of energy bolts before flying in an arc above them, and having spread them out sufficiently, dived right into the middle of the danger zone and stayed in the center. The bolts converged, and just a moment before they made contact, the dragon vanished back into the æther. Their target no longer in existence, the dark projectiles just flew into whatever was in front of them. Which happened to be each other.

Maria, who was stunned and clinging to the roof for the whole performance, only managed to groan and dust herself off. "Rotten jerk lizard," she grumbled before scanning the roofs for a sign of Alucard. Spotting a flash as he deflected one of Walter's spells, she ran after him on foot, hoping that the rooftops wouldn't lead her to a drop off or a dead end before she managed to catch up. Unfortunately, Walter smashed his way through a window moments later. She would have to reach Alucard soon, or she would risk never finding him at all.

"You can come back in now," Charlotte said, opening the throne room doors.

"Are they alright?" Jonathan asked.

"That's just it; I really don't know. We have to get them to a doctor."

There was a knock at the door and the pair were nothing short of astonished to see Oliver standing at the doors.

"Why are you here"

Oliver ignored Jonathan and strode quickly over to the prone Lecarde sisters. He knelt down beside them and looked them over before standing back up and turning to face the pair of hunters.

"Stella's stable but Loretta needs a doctor as soon as humanly possible. I have to say, whichever of the two of you wrapped them up, you did an excellent job bandaging them. We can't remove a leg though; we'll need a professional surgeon for that. I'll take care of that bit. You two have to go find that escaping vampire."

"You'll carry them both down?" Jonathan gave him a skeptical look, "How do you plan on doing that?"

"Well," Oliver pointed to the doors where Gaibon knelt patiently "Death decided to mess with me, and now this Gaibon replica is constantly following me around. It's doing whatever I tell him to. It's actually pretty creepy, but I'll admit that under the circumstances it'll be useful. Monster! Carry these girls to the car!"

The Gaibon replica made a guttural noise at the back of its throat and shuffled forward towards the sisters, whacking Oliver painfully in the arm with its wing along the way as though to say, '_I don't like this situation any more than you do.'_

"Come on! Get moving!" Oliver shouted with authority neither of the hunters knew he possessed. "I was _not_ expecting Walter to come back and I don't even want to _know_ what he might start doing if he isn't dealt with immediately!"

"Are you sure about this?" Jonathan asked hesitantly.

"_Go!_"

They left, stunned, but eager to find the vampire.

"Hold on, Jonathan," Charlotte stopped halfway down the giant staircase, "I need to cast a spell."

Jonathan nearly tripped from the sense of bad timing, "Now? Is it _that_ important?"

"Oh, just shut up! _I call upon Sylph, Spirit of the Wind, that it may grant us its boundless agility. Speed Up!_"

"Oh that's right, you _did_ still have that one…"

"_Who's _always casting useless spells now?

"I never said that," said Jonathan with annoyance as he jumped from the stairs. If there was a way to bypass both the ballroom and the gardens, he'd take it.

* * *

><p>"So… That was his plan," Death thought aloud, "Those hunters didn't put as much of a dent in his scheme as I had anticipated. Now Walter Bernhard walks the Earth once more."<p>

"Master!" Slogra burst into Death's chamber, Gaibon following him closely, "We have an emergency! Our scouts have determined that Bernhard is not truly fleeing the hunters. He appears to be headed in the direction of the Crimson Chamber!"

"What!? How could I not have foreseen this?"

"I do not mean any offense, My Lord, but it is true that the single most important thing achieved by Lord Dracula that was never matched by Bernhard was his obtainment of the Crimson Stone. It is not unforeseeable that he might attempt to steal the Stone."

"Quite right. This lunacy must come to an end here and now!" Death snarled furiously. He rose from his throne dramatically, his scythe materializing in his hands. And within moments, both he and his servants had vanished from the room to reappear somewhere else in the dark castle.

Alucard was getting frustrated. Walter was positively infuriating in his game of staying only a few inches ahead of his range. He remembered the story of King Midas who returned to his avaricious ways after the incident in which he turned his daughter into solid gold. When he died he was doomed to spend the afterlife in perpetual starvation, confined to a deep pool of water with a grape vine hanging down just out of his reach. Whenever he would try and grasp it, it would simply move farther away from him so as to always just be at the edge of his fingertips. So close, but impossible to actually obtain. This arrogant vampire was mocking him.

Moving through an open doorway, Walter suddenly leapt over to the opposite side of the room.

"_Rise, my minions!_" he shouted. He raised his arm slowly in a long sweeping motion and from the floor between them arose countless skeletons. Crows from outside smashed through the windows turning the room into a mess of black and white. All it needed now was a penguin or a zebra and the comic imagery would be complete. It was meant to be a distraction, and Alucard knew better than to take the bait. Before Walter had a chance to continue his escape, Alucard tore his way through the skeletons and brought his sword down on where Walter had stood, only to be blocked by the Damascus Sword, as usual. They crossed blades for only a few moments before the vampire continued running.

And so the game continued.

Alucard realized that the only way to win this game was not to play, but that wasn't an option. When all else failed in these circumstances, there was only one thing to do: Change the rules.

"Walter, it occurs to me that I should probably thank you."

"What!?" the distaste in the vampire's voice was fantastic.

Alucard continued, "Well, it's simply that if my father had never manipulated you, I might never have existed. I quite enjoy being alive after all. Thanks to you, my father obtained immortality and met my mother."

Anyone who had known Alucard for as much as a couple of hours would have known that he was lying through his teeth, but Walter was a different story. All he heard was that the son of his most hated enemy was thanking him.

"How dare you mock me!" he roared, the Damascus Sword flying out toward the melancholy prince who expertly parried the stab, and bludgeoned him in the small of his back with the pommel of the Alucard Sword. Before Walter hit the floor he transformed into a flock of bats and rematerialized, mid-glide.

"Pah, coward," Alucard spat.

Time to find a new tactic.

Maria dashed through the halls desperately trying to find her dhampric companion. As more and more time passed however, she was growing convinced that her endeavor was little more than an exercise in futility. She rounded a corner, letting out a yelp as she saw the gigantic treant standing over her, its red pinpoint eyes focusing on her unblinkingly. She backpedaled a few steps, hoping to God that the behemoth was as slow as it looked. As she took a few moments to summon her dragon again, the treant clumsily lurched around the corner, and just as the dragon appeared next to Maria the gnarled wooden creature pulled its arm back, and with speed few would have expected, it sent a brutal punch at its prey, sending her sprawling to the floor.

The dragon retaliated and began tearing at the beast with its talons, claws and teeth. The treant shook it off, but was naturally unprepared for the jet of fire that spurt toward it and set it alight. Burning, it staggered backward, trying desperately to put itself out, but only managed to do more damage. As a creature made from a tree, it was helpless against fire.

Maria pushed herself up and stood to face the dying monster, dusting herself off. She decided that now was as good an opportunity as any and summoned her spectral doves, which burst straight through the beast as it roared in pain, a strange rumbling sound like a mossy hollow log being struck.

"Sorry, but we're done here. You really had a wooden personality. It would never have worked out between us."

The treant roared as it fell apart piece by piece; first an arm, then its legs, and soon the entangled roots, bark and vines that composed its body just unraveled. The red pinpoints of its eyes faded, and the creature was no more.

"That was pretty cool," came a voice from behind the wooden wreckage.

"Who's that?" Maria demanded, back on her guard.

"Don't worry, it's just me…and a monster that keeps following me around…" said Oliver as he maneuvered around the giant treant wreckage. "By the way, that lethality remark was really lame.

Maria looked right past him and pointed at the space behind him, "What the hell is it doing with my friends!?" she shouted. Turning around, Oliver saw what he knew she referred to. The Gaibon replica was carrying one Lecarde in each in its talons to ensure its wings were available for flight.

"Don't worry, they're injured so I have it taking them to the car with me. If you want, you can carry one of them and I'll carry the other."

"Uh…" Maria thought about it for a moment. After very little hesitation she decided that she'd rather not lug someone else around. "No it's okay."

"I figured…" Oliver muttered under his breath before moving on and speaking up. "I'll get going then."

"Hold on!" Maria shouted.

Oliver turned back to face her.

"I don't trust flyboy over there with my friends, so I have to come with you," she said, pointing at the Gaibon copy.

"Fair enough," Oliver said with a good-natured smile, "but we should hurry. Loretta's really badly hurt."

"I know. I was there when it happened."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like. For any of you," he said sadly, moving on. "That's why I have to help out in any way I can."

"Then let's stop chatting and get a move on!"

They ran through the halls with very little interruption. Maria wasn't exactly pleased to be leaving Alucard hanging out to dry, but she felt that she had a responsibility to help her friends. And if that monster had a change of heart, God knew that Oliver wouldn't be able to stop it. Although, as she approached the awful zombie filled entrance hall, she couldn't escape a feeling of dread that she couldn't help but feel was not coming from the freakish abominations in that room. Something was waiting outside, and whatever it was, it wasn't going to be friendly.

* * *

><p>An armored disk warrior crumbled as Jonathan charged past it, the Balmung rising in an arc and splitting it in two. A pair of double axe armors threw their weapons at him without hesitation as they saw their fellow warrior fall. Jonathan blocked all four axes with the sword, but still needed to withdraw a few steps.<p>

"This is taking too long, even with your _Speed Up_ spell."

"Ugh, I think you're right," Charlotte grumbled, firing off a few minor Chain Lightning spells until the two remaining armored warriors collapsed leaving only dust and otherwise empty piles of armor.

They continued through the halls of the castle, following the faint sounds of combat. Hopefully they would find Alucard and Walter at the source of the noise. If not… well, that would be a problem that they didn't have time to be worrying about yet.

As they entered a room at the far end of the hall they watched as a hoard of black crows converged to form a trio of Malphas that instantly took to air. Without the crows obscuring their vision they say that the room also housed an army of skeletons. The raven demons spread their wings and fired a storm of razor sharp feathers at the two of them. They were too close to dive out of the way and were braced for the attack.

Which made it that much more surprising when nothing hit them. They looked up to see none other than Slogra and Gaibon tearing the skeletons apart while Death controlled his scythe as it spun like a windmill in a hurricane, it had blocked the vicious attack by the Malphas and in seconds it had cut them all to ribbons.

"Continue in this direction, hunters," beckoned Slogra, "we shall accompany you."

"Death!" Charlotte glared at the deity, "Again? What do you want now?"

"Nothing that you weren't already attempting. Without the interference of that vile Camilla, I now am capable of combating my enemy. Though he seems to have been replaced since I first requested your assistance."

"Hey! Totally not our fault!" Jonathan interrupted, "And why should we have to explain ourselves to _you_ of all people?"

"That is because I am offering my assistance. Very few get the opportunity to receive a gift from Death, much less a second. I will secure my Master's future, whether you intend to complete your job on the request of the Order of Ecclesia or not."

"Wait!" Charlotte stopped him before he continued, "Does this mean that _you're_ pulling the strings behind the Order?"

"Of course not! My Lord, Dracula did just that over a century ago, as you probably have learned for yourself, but at this point in time the desires of the Order simply coincide with my own agenda."

As Death spoke, Slogra and Gaibon both crept from the room and made to follow the dhampir and his vampiric quarry.

"Sure. Why should we believe you, exactly?" Jonathan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am Death! I do not lie! You have my actions thus far to prove it."

"You're still our enemy. It's that simple!" Jonathan snorted.

"Such arrogance. You still fail to realize that in addition to my duties as the Dark Lord's servant, I must also fulfill duties as an agent of your own God. The spirit world is much more complex than either of you realize, even you Miss Aulin. And my word is among the most valuable of _any_ spirit." Death stated with dark authority, "Keep in mind that it is thanks to me that you were not rendered helpless by that upstart malachi when it consumed your book of spells."

Charlotte's argument died on the tip of her tongue. She tried to respond but all she managed was a smart, "Uh?"

Death hissed in exasperation and turned away from the hunters. "You've wasted enough time already. I shall be following my two servants. You may follow me if it suits you, but I no longer require your services."

"No, we'll come with," Jonathan said with a sudden conviction.

Death turned to glance curiously at the hunter who'd had an abrupt change of heart.

"This is our job. We'll see it through to the end."

Death glided through the open doors "An admirable, though ordinary sentiment. Proceed."

The two hunters ran ahead, passing Slogra and Gaibon in the next hallway, noticing the various demons that the two servants had dispatched. The corpses of a number of fleamen were noted with some appreciation. Those…things—they couldn't very well be called people—were hellishly irritating. There were also a pair of expired mothmen, and a molton puddle of poisonous-looking slime suggested the presence of a glasya labolas. They headed down a flight of stairs to find the bretheren of the slain toxic hellhound. Jonathan immediately took charge of the situation.

"You take it from the left, I'll go right."

Charlotte nodded and immediately slid aside as the creature pounced. The moment it discovered that it hadn't pinned her beneath its paws, it arced its head in her direction and exhaled, expelling a cloud of its rancid, corosive breath at her, stopping her from casting.

Noticing that the creature seemed to be hyperfocusing on his partner, he took advantage of its distraction and slashed at it with the Balmung. The sword tore through its body and it let out a drawn out, though hoarse wheeze as it began melting into sludge similar in appearance to the bubbling pool that Death's servants had left sizzling on the floor at the top of the stairs.

"So where do we go next?" Charlotte asked.

"If we were just looking for another part of the castle, I'd be able to tell you that," Jonathan mused, "But as it is, we're looking for another person, er, I mean a vampire. I think that Death's trying to figure out precisely where to go right now."

"Figures. Are we seriously supposed to just _wait_ for his instructions before continuing?" Charlotte grumbled, "This is humiliating."

"I think doing otherwise would just be kind of stupid though. Death obviously doesn't like Walter for some reason. I'm positive he's not trying to mislead us. Whatever he's making us wait for, he's got a good reason," Jonathan said carefully.

He began looking around the room they were in. It had dark red wallpaper and a similarly colored rug rolled out down the center of the hall. The actual floor was constructed from black marble. There were no windows. Only a few doors: Two to the left side of the staircase and another on the right. Accoring to his map, the one on the right led directly back into the catacombs, while the others were still in proximity to the entry halls.

"I'm still ticked off," Charlotte grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

Something about this gesture drew Jonathan's eyes towards a place he knew he shouldn't stare at. He pulled them away as quickly as he could and desperately hoped that Charlotte hadn't noticed him staring.

No such luck.

"_Summon Medusa!"_

He suddenly found himself encased in a shell of stone. He was almost immediately released from his prison only to have his head batted about by Charlotte's heavy encyclopedia.

"Pervert."

"Sorry," Jonathan rolled his eyes. Suddenly he came to a realization. Something that explained quite a few of her occasional cases of odd behavior since arriving at the castle, especially during the scaling of the clock tower. "I can barely believe it, but it makes sense! If you didn't actually _want_ me to stare, you would've just worn a less provocative outfit! This whole time, you've been _trying_ to get me to stare at your boobs!"

"What?! How could you make me sound so filthy? You're a jerk!" Charlotte yelled, her face beet red.

"I'm not saying that to insult you! It's a fact! I mean I can only remember the events of the clock tower perfectly, so I at least remember that you asked me to stare at them and then _rate_ them, and later on unlaced the top of your corset so that I would be able to see them almost completely if I looked down!"

"I-Wha-No-I mean!—" Charlotte stammered incomprehensibly, the shade of red that her face had turned was practically fluorescent at this point and it was spreading past her ears and down her neck.

—Crash—

Charlotte let out a sigh of immense relief as the responibility of having to explain herself was nullified by the situation. Walter smashed through the farther door on the left side of the room and flung open the doors leading into the catacombs.

"I'm still gonna ask you about this later, you know," Jonathan told her as they began to chase after the vampire, nearly bumping into Alucard who was still following Walter, just barely managing to keep up. They hurried down the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them. The dark tunnels beneath the castle beckoning ominously to them as the masonry gradually gave way to dirt and natural stone. There was a crash at the bottom of the stairs as Death seemed to come out of the wall and swung his huge scythe in a cruel arc down upon Walter who parried it seemingly effortlessly with the Damascus Sword. Death was unhindered, continuing to swing his scythe at the vampire in quick slashes that should have been impossible for a weapon of its size, yet he continued, Slogra and Gaibon joining him as Walter continued charging down the caves.

"Wait a minute. He's going the wrong way," said Jonathan out of the blue as the three hunters ran, not quite able to keep up with Walter and his new opponent. "There are two ways to get out of the catacombs—three if he can fly which he can—and we came through one of them, but the rest are all in the opposite direction. Where's he going?"

"I don't know, but what's wrong with that?" Charlotte asked, "It just means we'll have him cornered once he makes a wrong turn. Unless…"

"He's not running from us," Alucard finished her thought, "He's taking us somewhere."

"If that's the case, _he_ may end up being the one cornering _us_ if he really does have a plan," Charlotte glared at the vampire ahead of them.

"If I've understood you guys right, this could get ugly."

Walter was more nimble than Jonathan would've expected from an old man. Granted he was in peak physical condition, but still… He'd never seen anyone jump onto a spear, propell themselves into an attack towards another opponent, push off from them, use their weapon as momentum push off from the ceiling with, and then use to chop another opponent in half. Gaibon died almost instantly as the Damascus Sword tore lengthwise through his body. Slogra lunged with his spear, hoping to catch Walter while he recovered from his brutal assault, only to have a cloud of bats fly past him. Before he had a chance to realize that Walter had already rematerialized behind him, the top half of his head was cut clean off.

Jonathan could barely believe that he actually felt sorry for a pair of demons and nearly hesitated, but for Death speaking to him.

"They'll be fine. Leave them."

He didn't understand how they could ever recover from the obviously mortal and brutal wounds that they had suffered, but he _was_ reminded that he had a job to do.

Death finally managed to catch Walter in the stomach and knock him backward toward the hunters who managed to catch him and launch an attack. Alucard immediately impaled him on his sword, only for him to transform into a flock of bats as the sword broke the skin. Charlotte had prepared for this however, and the bats were all hit with a powerful shot of _Chain Lightning_. He rematerialized and before he continued his maddeningly fast sprint, Jonathan swung the Vampire Killer at him, wrapping it around his wrist. He escaped but not before Jonathan managed to throw his pair of cross boomerangs. That was the moment Walter broke free and continued his charge. Death was waiting for him at the end of the hall and the process began again. This time however, he did not have Slogra and Gaibon at his side.

* * *

><p>Maria rushed through the dreadful zombie-infested hall at the front of the castle while Oliver took it at a slightly more relaxed pace, just kicking any of the shambling creatures that came too close.<p>

Maria made her way over to the car and anxiously waited for Oliver, remembering the movement she had seen in the trees only a few minutes earlier. She summoned her tiger just as a precaution. Oliver and the Gaibon replica carefully deposited the fitfully sleeping figures of Stella and Loretta in the car. Even with their task completed Maria still felt very uneasy. There was something out here with them, watching them hungrily almost like a predator before it strikes.

Suddenly, she felt a hot breath on her neck. She screamed, whirling around. Except there wasn't anything there. Nothing that could have been the source of the hot air she felt on the back of her neck. And she knew she had felt something.

She wasn't imagining anything. She scanned the trees anxiously, looking for a sign that anything might be there.

Something shifted just outside her field of vision. She turned to get a better look.

Once again, nothing. Except…what was that?

She took a few cautious steps forward to examine the strange object. To her immense confusion, it was…a person. A man dressed in nothing but a cloth around his waist stood there, looking at her curiously.

"What are you doing here?" Maria asked, "You should really get out of here, there's something really bad hiding somewhere around here."

The man just stared back at her.

"Look, I don't know what it is, but you really have got to run!"

This time the faintest hint of a smile played upon the man's lips, but still he didn't move.

Maria frowned, "What are you doing?! It's not safe anywhere around here! Why are you here in first place? Who are you anyway!?"

The man's eyes opened wider and slowly, the man's faint smile stretched into a grin. A wicked, horiffic grin. His lips parted to show a deranged smile punctuated by a whole mouth of carnivourous sharp teeth. Maria screamed and ran back to the car, but instead of following her, the man—no, the creature— did something far worse. His body convulsed. Slowly, his back seemed to inflate, veins stretching and showing themselves prominently. The man's eyes still watched her, the sick grin still on his face even as he hunched over and his body mutated.

The skin on his back tore open, splitting the rest of his skin into shreds, the demented face exploding in a shower of flesh and blood, and the most terrifying thing she had ever seen stepped out of the corpse.

Maria did the only thing she could do.

She screamed.

* * *

><p>Jonathan skidded around a corner just as Walter through open a pair of beautiful ornate bronze doors that looked very out of place in the dark tunnels. The room beyond cast an ominous red glow into the tunnel.<p>

In the center of the room, Death and Walter were squaring off. Death hung in place between Walter and the opposite wall of the room.

"This ends here, Bernhard. You'll not take another step."

"And you intend to stop me?"

"I'll unleash my full power here and reduce you to ashes."

Charlotte peered around to try and see what Death was guarding, seeing a decorated sarcophagus. The red glow that permeated the entirety of the room seemed to be coming from within the coffin.

"You've backed yourself into a corner, Bernhard," Jonathan growled, "there's nowhere left for you to run."

"I thought you would have realised by now, that I wasn't running _from_ anything," Walter sneered.

Alucard saw the coffin and how the red glow eminated from within and his eyes widened even as his expression grew furious with anxiety, "He's telling the truth, Jonathan. Listen carefully."

The occupants of the room fell silent. All but one. Though it did not speak a word, the others could hear it clearly. A rhythmic thumping, constant and unchanging, almost like…

"Is that a heartbeat?" Charlotte asked with trepidation.

"How very astute of you. That _is_ a heartbeat. But not the heart of a human. No, it is not even the the heart of the wretched usurping vampire who dwells within that coffin."

"Then what—?"

"It is the sound of the stone that has revived my father many times over the centuries," Alucard answered grimly, "That very stone is the reason that Vlad Tepes is the one and only master of Death."

"It is the Crimson Stone," hissed Walter with venom, "After nearly one thousand five hundred years, it will finally be mine. And when I tear it from that filthy Cronqvist's body, I will take back my rightful place as the most powerful Dark Lord this world has ever seen!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: So, did Menace's appearance creep anyone out? It's certainly terrified Maria, considering her fear of blood and guts, and therefore undead. Anyway, up next is the final battle. Get ready, because it's going to get violent!<strong>


	23. Chapter XXIII: Nocturne of Ruin

**Author's Note: I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year! I can't believe I was actually able to post! The final battle has arrived, not in the tallest tower during a tempest, nor in the center of the castle, but instead in the deepest catacombs that none but the castle's master have ever set foot in before. Anyway, you're not here to read me rambling, so I'll just get on with it. Also, did you know that the human head survives for an average of five seconds without a body?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter XXIII<strong>

**Nocturne of Ruin**

Adrian Fahrenheits Tepes was beyond astonished. He would never have guessed that more than fifteen hundred years after his father became the King of Darkness, his predecessor would return not only still seeking vengeance, but also bearing the knowledge necessary to steal the source of his father's power.

The potential for disaster here was greater than any threat his father had posed. Despite being a particularly cruel vampire, Dracula lacked the sheer depraved mindset that Walter possessed. Having read about his father's predecessor, he knew about how Walter worked, about how he would kidnap young girls or children to lure other people in. How he would summon monsters for the express purpose of letting the humans kill them to work up their confidence only to have their children or lovers confront them at the very end, already having been turned into vampires. If the newly turned vampires were too strong-willed to kill their relatives or lover, or just couldn't bring themselves to kill them even after having fought them, Walter just slaughtered all parties involved.

Dracula might have been a mass murderer, but he was direct about it. The only thing worse than committing those murders would be to turn them into his own little game. While Dracula killed for a goal, Walter killed for entertainment.

His life had to end here and now.

He charged, sword drawn, bringing it down on Walter's head. The vampire caught the Alucard Sword with his own blade and with a flick of his wrist he managed to knock Alucard into a wall. The dhampir was prepared for impact and used the momentum to leap off of the wall, heirloom sword raised high.

"You cannot be allowed to exist a minute longer! In the name of my mother, I shall put an end to your lunacy without hesitation!"

Jonathan, Charlotte and Death all nodded. Neither of the humans were truly prepared to cooperate with the spirit, but what Alucard had said did strike a chord. The blond hunter was the next to move, charging at the vampire, whip poised to strike.

Walter moved fast, though Jonathan was almost ready to laugh when he grabbed the whip as he swung it, just like Alastor. However unlike Alastor, Walter ignored the pain and yanked hard on the end of the whip, pulling Jonathan off his feet and sending him flying into the ceiling.

"I'm okay!" Jonathan shouted from the human shaped indentation, managing to climb his way out and then tumbling gracelessly to the floor. "Waugh!—Oof!…Still okay!" He didn't get up immediately though.

Charlotte had made herself busy with shooting off a volley of _Ice Needles_. It had appeared to work until Walter raised his hand out between his body and the attacks and began to absorb the spells. A blue glow surrounded the vampire's hand and he shouted an incantation.

"_Cocytus!_"

A terrible frost cloud began to slowly spread toward her, coating the earthen floor with ice.

"What!? How the hell did he manage that!?"

"Miss Aulin," Death said in his constant rasp, "you can use the _Book of Binding_ to absorb spells. You should have realized that by now."

"Oh…Hmm, that makes sen—_wait!_ _Why didn't you tell us that before!?_"

"I simply assumed that a girl of your prodigious magical aptitude would learn the specifics of the tome on her own. Perhaps you're not as intelligent as you think you are."

"I'll make you eat those words so that they pour out of your skeletal throat and onto the floor!" Charlotte retorted. She faced the approaching spell head on and opened up the book to a blank set of pages, holding it out in front of her. "You're more stupid than I thought, using magic against the best witch the world has seen in a century! Let's see how you like this." No one bothered trying to slow down her racing ego, even considering that she didn't know that she could do what she was doing until a moment prior.

The frozen cloud was sucked into the _Book_'s pages and Charlotte snapped it shut, locking it in.

"Now, I'll show you what that spell's _supposed_ to look like: _Cocytus!_"

The same massive frost cloud sprung from the book as she reopened it, but unlike the slow rolling vapor that had poured from Walter's hand this cloud billowed toward the vampire at an alarmingly fast pace. Within seconds, Walter was encased in ice; a handicap that Alucard and Death both took advantage of immediately. A whirl of a sword and a scythe, and the ice shattered leaving a battered vampire kneeling on the floor. Unfortunately for the hunters, he healed his wounds almost immediately.

"You'll have to try harder than that, foolish humans! Oh, I'm sorry. I nearly forgot to mention the half-breed."

"I won't take it personally," Alucard hissed grimly, "After all, you won't live to regret saying it!"

* * *

><p>The horrific abomination lurched toward Maria, a mass of bones and rotting flesh in the twisted image of a gigantic human. She nearly threw up at the mere sight of it, especially after it had torn the body of its host open.<p>

"What _is_ that thing?" she whimpered, taking a few steps back, one hand gripping a soft tuft of fur on her loyal tiger's back for comfort.

Oliver appeared to be lost in thought for a moment despite the circumstances before he responded. "It's an amalgamation of demons. They were fused together using some form of ritual but the person who was trying to control them clearly couldn't handle their power. Thus, the body tore open and released this thing. You have to get rid of it."

There was a groan from the back seat of the car.

"N-no…she can't…she's afraid of blood and guts," A groggy, and dizzy Stella tried to sit up, tilting herself up using her left hand.

"Stella!" Oliver exclaimed, "Please, just lay back down, you're hurt. Really badly, and I don't actually have any more potions to give you. You need a doctor."

"I have to help—Ahh!" the pain in her right side suddenly registered in her brain and she collapsed, wincing and breathing through her teeth.

"I can't do this!" Maria choked, tears coming to her eyes as she began hyperventilating. "I can't do this! I don't want to die!"

'_Of course you don't.'_

"I'm too scared!"

'_I know you are. So please, I need you to trust me.'_

"Is that you, Maria?" she asked the voice in her head, "How are we supposed to beat that?"

'We_ aren't, but if you can trust me for a while,_ I'll _do it for you.'_

* * *

><p>The world around Maria faded to black and she saw her double standing before her once again for the second time that night.<p>

"What do you mean?" she asked her predecessor.

"There's a spell that dark wizards use to take control of bodies that their spirits invade. It doesn't require a body to cast."

"Wait, are you saying your going to _possess_ me?"

"_Not quite. Being your body's previous soul, I'm already possessing you in a way. I just can't access your body's functions. To be perfectly honest, what I'm going to do is more like stealing your body from you"_

"What!? No way! Did you actually expect me to _agree_ to this!?"

"Of course not! I only learned the spell in case a dark wizard tried to use it on me. It nearly happened to me when I was a child! Dracula's deranged servant, the Dark Priest Shaft was trying to copy his conscience into me when I was a child so that he could manipulate my powers. Even as a little girl I had the potential to become an extraordinary witch. Ironically, it's thanks to him that I became one. But when Shaft possessed my brother-in-law, Richter, I decided I needed to learn a countermeasure to avoid having my body stolen from me. I—"

"And now you want to use it on me?" Mariabella interrupted.

"Aw, don't interrupt me when I'm almost finished telling a story. I poured through a lot of books of dark magic searching for an appropriate spell, and after testing it by having Alucard's ghost familiar possess me a few times, I was able to cast it. The only problem is that if I use this spell, I can't voluntarily give you control of your body back without vanishing completely, and I'm not giving my second life up."

"Obviously, the answer is still no! I mean what'll happen to me when you cast it on me?"

"You'll become to me what I am to you right now. A potentially loud voice in my head watching the world through my eyes."

"You can't be serious. I mean you just told me that you knew I would never agree to this! Why would you even bother asking?"

"I'll answer your question with one of my own: How do you think I knew you'd disagree to the idea?"

"How should I know?!" Mariabella screamed, "Just give me a straight answer!"

"I'll tell you then: I bothered to ask because I want to save your life. This is the only way for me to do that. I can speak through your mouth, and I can use some of my power, but I can't override your soul or personality. And I think you _know_ how I knew you'd hate the idea."

"Because…I'm…just like you," she said shakily.

"I'm making you a promise: I'm going to teach you the spell so that you can take your body back from me. You _will_ be able to get your body back from me." Maria Renard said with kind resolve, "For lack of my own life, I'll swear it on my heart. You're my reincarnation, and I care about you. But right now I want you to let me use it."

"How long will it take for me to learn the spell?" Mariabella said, tears escaping from her eyes despite her attempts to blink them away.

"I can't say for certain," the noblewoman looked away, unable to meet her descendant's gaze.

"Well, how long did it take for _you_ to learn it?

"About four months of a few hours of study a day. I guess with you in my subconscious, it may take a little longer. I'm so sorry, but this is the only way I can think of to save you. And don't you have two of your friends to protect?"

"Y-Yes," Mariabella hiccupped, tears still flowing from her eyes, "You'd better make sure that nothing happened to them!"

"I promise. You're extremely brave for doing this you know." Maria put her arms around her successor in a comforting embrace. "I'm proud to call you my reincarnation."

"Th-thank you…I g-guess." Mariabella shut her eyes, not having the heart to return the hug.

"Well, here I go," Maria stepped away and closed her eyes. She began to fade away, leaving behind a shining outline in the dark expanse of her mind that began to spread across Mariabella's field of vision, even as she felt herself fading into the remaining darkness that closed in around her as her predecessor's light enveloped her. She felt herself vanishing. Her thoughts turned to her parents who lived in Ithaca just off of he university campus, and her sister who was studying abroad in Europe. She thought about how she might never see them again through her own eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Mom. Daddy…Anne…" one last tear rolled down her cheek. And then she was gone.

* * *

><p>Maria Renard flexed her new fingers as the freakish monstrosity continued advancing toward her.<p>

"Maria? Are you alright?" Oliver called over to her, "You looked like you spaced out for a few seconds there."

"I'm just fine," Maria replied, sparing him a glance before facing the abomination again, "and you," she said, pointing at it, "have made a _very_…_big…mistake_!"

* * *

><p>Death put himself between Walter and the coffin as the vampire made a dive at it.<p>

"You will not pass me. I will defend my master," Death hissed.

"_I'll_ be your master in a few short moments and then neither of us will have to worry about the corpse in the sarcophagus."

"We'll see," Death replied, slamming his scythe down on the vampire, only to be blocked by the Damascus Sword. The scythe came around again from Walter's right this time, hooking around his body, and unfortunately not impaling him. It did however build up a lot of momentum as Death swung him in a circle and tossed him directly at Jonathan…who happened to be carrying exactly the wrong weapon for the moment.

Whips tended to do a poor job of blocking objects after all, especially ones moving at high velocity. His legs felt rooted to the spot as he thought crossed his mind.

Thinking fast, he tossed his throwing axes at the vampire. They hit Walter directly in the chest, but were obviously not enough to knock him back, and the Vampire landed on top of him. He was grabbed by the throat, lifted toward Walter's body, and kicked into the ground as Walter used his body like a springboard, and all in the time it took before he slammed into the ground and skidded to the edge of the room. Walter arced around in the air, transforming into his flock of bats and landing directly in front of the coffin. Death's scythe whirled around, lifting him into the air and slamming him back down to earth a safe distance away form the coffin.

Charlotte had been busy throughout this whole exchange. She had prepared _Sanctuary_ again under the possibility that Walter might not be able to defend against it if he couldn't focus on it. The explosion of light engulfed everything in the room. Cries of pain were heard from several places. Walter and Death were obviously hurt, but Charlotte _didn't_ expect Alucard to topple over.

"What happened? Alucard!" Jonathan shouted even as he slashed at the prone Walter with the Vampire Killer. He was almost immediately blasted off of his feet as the vampire jumped to his feet and slashed at him in an upward diagonal arc charged with negative energy.

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asked, hurrying over to the dhampir's side.

"My apologies, however I cannot withstand another casting of your _Sanctuary_ spells. Holy energy can hurt me quite easily you see."

"I've used it around you before. How come you never told me before?"

"I have a very high tolerance to physical pain," he groaned, pushing himself to his feet, "However, Walter has forced me to expend too much energy. I have precious little endurance left."

"So, I can't use _Sanctuary_ again?"

"I'd be grateful if you refrained from doing so."

"All right. Back to _Piercing Beam_ then I guess," Charlotte shot several blasts of the aforementioned spell at the vampire. He wasn't hurt substantially but it gave Jonathan openings that he exploited quickly and efficiently.

Suddenly, the air in the room began to distort unevenly as vicious-looking sickles started to melt into existence.

"Oh no…" Jonathan groaned as he saw them appearing around him, "I hate these things."

"You never know, Jonathan!" Charlotte called him out, "You may find you like them a bit more when they're on your side."

"You're not in a position that would be caught in friendly fire!" Jonathan shouted back, "Why do they call it that anyway?" he muttered under his breath.

The sickles converged on Walter. Every time he dodged one it would appear somewhere else in the room and start whirling in on his position again. Death didn't wait around either. He continued keeping guard over Dracula's coffin and delivered a brutal slash as Walter once again made a move to get near it.

"Curse you, spirit! Stay out of my way!"

"I'll disappear only if you destroy my body," Death said grimly.

"That doesn't really reassure us very much you know," Charlotte announced, "I mean the Belmonts have wiped the floor with you each time you encountered them and even several other people were able to defeat you, my ancestor Sypha included."

"Silence!" Death roared. The sickles spun faster and continued to home in on Walter. The scythe crashed against the Damascus Sword several more times until—

—CRACK—

As the scythe collided with the Damascus Sword, Jonathan had hit it with the Balmung and Alucard had slammed Ascalon down on top of it as well, which was strange considering that Jonathan vividly remembered it being tossed out of the clock tower's clock. However, what all three parties were paying attention to was not the reappearance of the primary Dragon Slaying Sword, but the Damascus Sword, which now had a deep crack in its black metal.

"Break it!" Jonathan shouted excitedly, "By the way, when did you get that sword back?" he asked curiously.

"I found it while this scum was leading me pointlessly around the castle. I'll review the details later."

"Walter, not one to be insulted or spoken of as though he were elsewhere, snarled and slashed at the hunter and the dhampir respectively with a flurry of blows that sent them staggering back, but only momentarily. The sight of the crack had built up their fervor and they were going to snap that sword in two. They both leaped into the air and slammed their swords down on Walter at the same time, cleanly trisecting his head.

Or would have, had he not blocked them with his sword. He managed to toss them away while they were still in the air.

—CRACK—

Jonathan looked up victoriously to see the Damascus Sword. Still intact. It had cracks spider webbing along the length of its blade, but it still held together.

"That's a really well-made sword you've got there, I'll give you that," Jonathan said, exasperated.

"I have much more than this sword in store for you, _hunter!_" he drew the last word out as he charged at him. Jonathan forgot to prepare himself and hadn't raised his sword in time to block. And the Damascus Sword struck.

"_Jonathan!_" Charlotte cried, but it was too late.

He felt the sword cutting into his head! He really was going to—

—CRUNCH—

The sword shattered.

Jonathan breathed a heavy sigh of relief, equaled only by Charlotte's.

Walter stared, dumbstruck, at the hilt of his sword, the only part that had remained intact, however, he grinned at the two hunters, "My abilities aren't so limited as to be confined to the way of the sword," he laughed maliciously, "Do you have any idea—!"

Blood sprayed from his mouth like a burst from a misting fountain.

He looked down to see the Alucard Sword protruding from his chest.

"Y-You…You _filthy son…of Cronqvist!_" he choked, coughing up blood again.

"Die here Walter, kneeling at the grave of your equally foolish enemy, and his time, don't bother trying to return."

"This is _definitely not_ over yet…" Jonathan said worriedly.

"I have a feeling you're right," Charlotte grimaced.

Suddenly the floor began to shake. Rocks started to fall from the ceiling and the room seemed to grow in size by a significant degree.

Charlotte felt the Book of Binding pulse. She opened it up and noticed that she had retrieved another spell.

"Hey, I've got Rock Riot back."

"Uh, we've got more important things to deal with. You might want to take a quick look at Walter."

She lifted her eyes from the _Book_'s pages.

"Shit!" she swore, much to the dismay of all others present in the room.

* * *

><p>'<em>So how are you planning on beating this…thing?' <em>Mariabella asked the girl now controlling her body.

"Well, it's poorly constructed, so it's vulnerable to anything. I'll just start by targeting what looks like it'll fall off easiest…" She gave the creature a once-over, "…Like that gut-launcher sprouting from its left arm."

'_Gut launcher?'_

"It shoots the internal and external organs of some of its creator-demons—"

'_Please stop explaining it!'_ Maria would have retched, had she still been in control of her body.

"Okay, let's do this!" she shouted with powerful determination, a winged staff seeming to stretch out from her palm. With a simple thought both her dragon and her phoenix appeared on either side of her.

Without a moment's hesitation, she hopped onto the dragon's back and took off, aiming straight for the abomination's head. The dragon unleashed a jet of fire that began melting pieces off of the skull-like face, falling to the ground and vanishing in puffs of smoke.

"Phoenix! Get the head-things on its knees!" Maria ordered, pointing to a pair of hideous faces like horrific porcelain dolls, expressions twisted in agony. The firebird immediately spiraled high into the sky and then dived like a falcon, swooping down into the left knee, incinerating the first face causing the creature to scream in agony, oddly and horrifically enough managing to sound like a child being tortured.

Raising its left arm, it pointed the aforementioned gut launcher and fired several…things…at the phoenix, which it dodged easily. Seeming to grow frustrated, the monster changed its focus to the dragon attempting to burn its head, which was futile considering that the twisted skull was just a shield for its real face. It fired its gut launcher three more times.

Maria found herself falling from her dragon's back covered in what appeared to be intestines covered in spikes. They appeared to be slithering over her body of their own volition.

"Sorry, I'm not into that!" she hissed, absolutely disgusted.

With a quick blast of fire, the phoenix destroyed the freakish organs attempting to violate her. Landing on her feet, Maria summoned another animal; her tiger that had been dispelled when she had taken control of her successor's body. It roared and leaped at the other porcelain doll's face on its other knee, literally tearing it off with its claws. The gut launcher suddenly crashed to the ground and disappeared as her dragon destroyed the tendrils of flesh keeping it connected to the monster's arm. Once again, the repulsive colossus screamed its high-pitched shriek, and another face appeared out of its torso. Unlike the others, it didn't look at all like a porcelain doll. It was a gigantic, rotting, fleshy growth shaped like a skull. This time, Maria did retch.

Just as the dragon was about to make another pass at the monster's head, it raised its arm and swatted the dragon into the ground right beside its master. Maria didn't hesitate to climb onto its back and continue her attack from the air.

Until her dragon vanished right out from under her and she once again went into freefall. She looked around for her phoenix and her tiger, just caching glimpses of them as they all faded out of reality. She realized what had happened. To be quite honest with herself, she was rather ashamed that she hadn't seen it coming.

'I'm out of energy!?'

_As if sensing the imminent danger, the Gaibon replica attempted to fly away, only to have the freakish colossus extend its skull-like head and chomp down on it, killing it instantly._

* * *

><p>Walter was changing. Drastically. His armor had melded with his skin giving him a sturdy black carapace, and his cape and arms seemed to be fusing into gigantic wings. Unlike any wings any of them had ever seen though, these seemed to have ten fingers on each appendage, an entire clawed hand protruding from where one would typically expect to see a bat's thumb-claw. His violent red hair had spread down his back, and his jaws were extending, gruesomely exposing his fangs and a set of razor sharp teeth. His head, with elongated features, large ears, and an upturned heart shaped nose had begun to resemble that of a vampire bat, as did the rest of his body. Though this was like no bat they'd ever seen before. He had sturdy looking legs similar to the hind legs of a feline; ram-like horns now protruded from the sides of his head, and his powerful, clawed wings had completely replaced his arms, though they had working hands on them where the thumb-claws would normally be. And the black fur covered carapace that had once been his armor just completed the destructive, demonic package.<p>

Before Alucard had time to recover, Walter had snatched him up in his claws and flung him head first into the earthen wall, his head striking a rock, knocking him unconscious. Death met a similar fate, as the demonic vampire opened his mouth and spewed a jet of fire at him, burning the spirit's corporeal form to a pile of blackened cinders.

It was just the vampire and the two partners left now. They readied their weapons and prepared for what they knew would be a brutal deathmatch.

"Humans are weak, pathetic creatures, and you've just witnessed me destroy Death himself," Walter gloated in a significantly deeper voice, though it was still obviously his own, "What hope do you believe you could possibly have?"

"Actually, I don't _know _if I can beat you," Jonathan responded honestly, a sneer spreading across his face, "But I'd feel pretty lame if I defeated Dracula, only to be taken down by his inferior predecessor."

"You'll die for saying that!" he quite literally roared, "I am far greater than that bastard, Cronqvist could ever _hope_ to be. _I_ am the _true_ King of the Night, and I will not let something so pathetically insignificant as a pair of human children stop me from achieving the ambitions I've had for more than a millennium! Don't bother praying to God. _He'll never hear you over the noise of your own screaming!_" and with that, he slammed a fist down in front of them, unleashing a fiery shockwave that knocked both hunters off of their feet. He towered over them, snatching Charlotte up in his right hand, while Jonathan managed to roll out of his grasp. He ran behind the demonic vampire, slid between Walter's legs and struck with the Vampire Killer, wrapping it around his right arm. A struggling Charlotte toppled to the floor, landing on her hands and knees as Jonathan distracted their opponent with the whip, thrashing the monster across the chest. Recovering quickly, Charlotte shot off a volley of fireballs forcing the vampire back a few steps, but not far enough. Reaching out with his left arm, he flattened Jonathan under his wing.

Or at least, that was how it looked. In reality, Jonathan had just taken a knife out of his boot and was getting ready to rip through Walter's wing and pull his way out.

"Stop struggling. It will be easier for you," Walter hissed. In one swift motion, Jonathan stabbed his knife through Walter's wing membrane and tore open a hole just big enough for him to clime through. Or would have, had Walter's sable carapace not been in the way.

"Charlotte! A little help here!" he shouted as loud as he could.

"On it! _Summon Medusa!_"

Medusa's gaze immediately petrified Walter, though only his wing was actually encased in stone due to his sheer size. However, it was enough to make Walter flail it about to try and free himself, giving Jonathan more than enough time to get to a safer distance. Walter tried to slam his free wing down on him but failed to land a hit.

"_Rock Riot!_"

He was further impeded as a rockslide came out of nowhere, dumping boulders of various sizes onto his head.

"Don't you _dare_ toy with me!" he howled.

"Fine, I'll get serious;" Charlotte relented, "_Explosion!_"

Walter was immediately shrouded by a thick veil of fire as explosions were set off around his body. What the hunters noticed when the flames receded was more than a little encouraging:

Walter's armor had cracked. Right down the center, a jagged crack had appeared in the demon's carapace, and he had noticed it.

"Nice going, Charlotte!" Jonathan shouted over Walter's roars encouragingly, though in retrospect he knew that the last thing Charlotte needed was an ego boost. Not that he was one to talk either.

With a roar, Walter lashed out at Charlotte, intent on not letting her cast another spell, giving Jonathan all the time he needed to sneak around him and jump onto his back. Not wasting any time, he swung the Vampire Killer around Walter's neck. He couldn't help but notice that the fearful aura that the Vampire Killer had been radiating seemed to be growing more confident. Unable to shake him off, Walter took to slamming his back into the wall, which as Jonathan quickly discovered was a very effective and painful way to dislodge a smaller person from your body. He yanked on the whip, letting it go slack and ducked out of the way as Walter attempted to slam him again.

"_Explosion!_" Charlotte shouted. Jonathan's diversion had worked perfectly. The crack in Walter's armor spiderwebbed across the entirety of his body, but it held. It wouldn't last very long though no matter _what_ hit it. Just for good measure, Jonathan wound up his whip and hefted the Balmung over his head, slamming it down on Walter's back. He was pleased that at least once over the course of their whole escapade in Castlevania, his attack achieved the desired result. Walter's armor shattered. He was exposed, and despite his great power, his body wasn't defended significantly better than the body of most other large demons.

Jonathan immediately returned the whip to his hand and swung it wildly, lashing the vampire repeatedly, bringing him to his knees, his wings folding at his sides as his arms hit the ground.

"Time to end this," Charlotte said calmly, approaching her massive opponent. She raised her arm, ready to set off one last explosion.

She never saw it coming.

* * *

><p>Maria had managed to get into a blind spot, constantly staying behind the horrific colossus. She was almost ready, she could feel it, but she had to hold off for another few minutes.<p>

"This wouldn't have happened in my old body," she muttered.

'_Well, I'm so-o-orry that my body isn't as magically tuned-up as yours was, or whatever,'_ Mariabella internally retorted, _'How was I supposed to know that this would happen?'_

"Point taken, but still, I'd prefer to have finished this by now."

The horror turned slightly, and raised its leg.

'_I think it's found us,_' Mariabella squeaked.

"Yeah, this is bad. No romantic after-party with Mr. Tall, Broody, and Handsome if I don't get you out of the way."

'That's_ what you're thinking about!'_ Mariabella shrieked inside her head,_ 'You wanted to spend time with Alucard so you hijacked my body and now I'm gonna die because of that!? Is that it!?'_

"I swear, it's not! But…I still don't think there's any way out of this. I know you'll never forgive me, but if it helps even a bit, I'm truly sorry for this."

'_I'd say it's been a pleasure, but honestly, you've gotten me killed, so maybe saying that it's been a shame would be more accurate.' _

"Well, actually, if you were paying more attention, you might have noticed that we've been talking far longer than it should have taken for this colossal freak show to stomp on us and turned us into bloody Maria flapjacks. Check out our big friend over here!" She looked up at the beast using its head to keep the monster's foot from falling on them.

'Isn't that the thing that Charlotte let out of the monster zoo thing?'

"Yep. I never forget a face."

'You call that thing's mug a face?' Mariabella asked skeptically.

"Now, now, don't be mean."

With a roar, Gergoth heaved its head up, knocking the gargantuan monster off balance. Inhaling deeply, it unleashed a massive energy beam from its mouth, incinerating the menace's elbow joint, severing its right forearm. It stumbled back, roaring in agony and clutching the oozing stump that had once held the rest of its arm. Gergoth sidestepped as a massive footmade to stomp on it. The benevolent beast moved slowly, but was still just agile enough to maneuver its bulk out of the way of the giant's attacks. Once again it inhaled, but instead of an energy beam however, it exhaled a cloud of dull green gas. As the cloud made contact with the monster's flesh, it began to dissolve, the face in its stomach howled as tendrils connecting it to the rest of its body began melting grotesquely down its abdomen.

"That thing has a corrosive breath weapon!" Maria shouted with excitement, "Excellent! We've got an opening!"

Striding into the gigantic monster's line of sight, she raised her hands.

"_I summon thee, Dragon of the Zodiac!_"

Her dragon's Zodiac form erupted from its symbol and she scrambled up onto its head. It was over in an instant. They burst right through the hideous face in the monster's chest. The creature's shrieks grew so loud that Maria had to cover her ears to prevent her eardrums from bursting. She had to stop herself from cheering for herself for fear of jumping and then slipping from her dragon's head. As she made for one last pass she saw the head's jaw hanging open limply, exposing the abomination's last face. Her dragon breathed an intense jet of fire straight into its open mouth, broiling it. With one last shriek, the abomination fell apart piece by haphazard piece before the remains dissolved leaving behind nothing but the torn and empty body of its host.

"You're done. Rest in peace," Maria said grimly, dismounting from her dragon's head and letting it vanish. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have someone to find." She made her way to the castle doors and with no lack of confidence, threw them both open, kicking a zombie aside as it tried to bite her.

'_That is _so gross!_ Why would you make me touch that!?'_ Mariabella shuddered.

"We both have something—scratch that—some_one_ much more important to worry about right now. And we have to hurry. I'm already late."

* * *

><p>One moment Charlotte had stood on the earthen floor of the tomb, the next, Walter's head had shot out and had grabbed her in his mouth. She wasn't worried about contracting vampirism. She wouldn't survive nearly long enough for the change to occur. She had felt most of her ribs snap as Walter began slowly closing his jaws, clearly intending to make her death as painful as possible.<p>

Her senses were failing her. She was vaguely aware of Jonathan shouting her name, but was in too much pain to work out exactly what was happening. Her world was one of fear and agony. It was difficult for her to breathe. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Suddenly she felt a loud crack, and then the world just vanished.

* * *

><p>"Charlotte! <em>Charlotte! Put her down you sick, filthy parasite!<em>" Jonathan screamed at the top of his lungs. This only elicited a dark chuckle from the vampire.

"_I said let her go, you bastard!_" Jonathan was beyond furious now, but more than that he was terrified. He'd said only minutes earlier that it'd be lame if he survived Dracula only to be killed by Walter. This wasn't fair. It didn't make sense! This was— "_Not happening!_" he bellowed ferociously. Jonathan flung the whip behind him and yanked it back with all his might before lashing out, wrapping the Vampire Killer around Walter's neck and pulling it as tight as he could manage.

The vampire choked and released Charlotte from his jaws.

"You're going to pay for this if it's the last thing I do! And don't worry, I'll make it _hurt!_" Jonathan emphasized his last word by giving the Vampire Killer a sharp tug and snapping the monstrous Walter's head back.

"You shouldn't bother with that…" Walter croaked out through his constricted throat, she died before I even released her."

"_No!_ You lying bastard!"

Ignoring the pain, Walter managed to wrench the whip's chord up and over his head and took a few unsteady steps back, "You can go over and see for yourself," he snarled, a deranged grin spreading across his bat-like features. Jonathan ran over to Charlotte's unmoving form, not taking his eyes off of the demon for even a moment. Upon seeing her however, he could see that Walter had been telling the truth. She was white as a ghost, wasn't breathing, and he couldn't feel her heart beating. He pressed both hands down on her chest, then placed his ear over it, and still, no sign of a pulse.

"No…" Jonathan whispered.

Walter's awful grin spread further across his elongated, animalistic features.

"No!" he shouted this time.

Walter let out a bout of diabolical laughter, almost too theatrical to be taken seriously. But under the circumstances, there was no reason to laugh over anything.

"_No!_" Jonathan howled, his cry no less dramatic than Walter's laugh. It was the kind of "No!" that he heard in bad high school performances during dramatic scenes. He never thought he'd be the one shouting it.

Death suddenly rematerialized shocking both combatants. Ignoring them completely, he drifted over to the stone coffin and reached straight through the lid. Said lid immediately got tossed off with enough force to leave a large dent in a thick titanium wall. And it happened to fly directly into Walter's stomach, setting off a huge spray of blood from his mouth. The red glow from the coffin grew brighter than ever. But the man Jonathan saw step out of the coffin wasn't nearly the man he had expected. When he and Charlotte had encountered Dracula he'd looked like he had on the cover of Charlotte's copy of Bram Stoker's novel. This man was had shoulder-length white hair with only a few traces of black and an elegantly trimmed beard. No signs of a sharp receding hairline. While the Dracula they'd fought had looked malicious and conniving, this man's face had an heir of regalia above anything else. The only similarity in fact, was the gaunt form and the red trimmed cape.

"Good to see you again, Lord Bernhard." Dracula drawled coolly.

* * *

><p>Charlotte opened her eyes. Even that most simple action was painful. It hurt to breathe and her mouth was dry. Despite not finding fangs upon licking her teeth, she felt a faint part of her mind lusting for blood. Terrified, she began casting <em>Sanctuary<em>, mouthing the words and successfully casting the spell, only for the magic to die on her fingertips.

'_I guess it can't be cast by a vampire…'_ she thought miserably, _'It's impossible for me to cure myself.'_

She turned her head to look up in hate at Walter's demonic form, smiling at the terror in his eyes following their gaze to an unfamiliar man. Though he did look similar to Alucard. _'That must somehow be Dracula._' she deduced. She couldn't heal herself, but there was one thing that she knew she could still do.

"…Jonathan," she choked out through her parched lips. He was at her side the very next second.

"Charlotte, you're alive! Oh, thank The Lord! Wha—"

"_All be still!"_ she whispered, but without the aid of the material scroll she only succeeded freezing time around the two of them, "I'm not…alive…" she coughed out, "Not the same way you are…" she gasped for breath for a few seconds before continuing, "I've been…turned…into a vampire. You saw it happen. When this is over…I want you to kill me."

"What! I—How—You can't ask me to do that!"

"If you don't, what do you think will happen?" she whispered, her voice gentle as she offered him a soft smile, "I'll tell you, you stupid boy, I'd end up becoming the next Carmilla or Elizabeth Báthory. If Leon could do it, so can you. And you're twice as incredible as any Belmont. You don't have to do it right now though. Besides, I can still help you kill the one who did this to me."

"I won't do it!" Jonathan shook his head, "I'll find a way to stop it; I'll save you!"

"You can't do anything. I'm sorry. But I know you can live without me. Just hurry up, and take that joker down."

The time suspension ended and Jonathan stood up, his head downcast and his bangs falling over his eyes. He moved slowly, barely lifting his legs and swaying as though he were intoxicated. Nevertheless, he stood between Walter and Dracula in only a few moments. With immense effort, Charlotte raised her hand, reaching toward the ceiling.

"_Warriors, revive!"_

Although both partners had recited the incantation, Charlotte was barely audible. That didn't stop Jonathan from being loud though. The spell was recited as a demand. The Vampire Killer's memory of the Belmont Clan _would_ attack, price or not price. His life was over anyway, he could afford to use an ability that could drain upwards of a year from him.

"You think you can revive the dead? Have you grown delirious from exhaustion, hunters?"

"I'm afraid you're no better informed than the pawn you are, Bernhard," Dracula stated casually, getting a hiss out of Walter, "I happen to be unhappily familiar with what they two hunters are doing. You shall indeed return to the other world on this night."

Walter made to lunge at Dracula but found himself frozen where he stood, only his head remaining movable, doing him no good whatsoever.

"What have you done?! I demand that you explain this to me!"

"It is the second to last act in this performance," Dracula hissed.

"You might want to stay in your coffin next time," came a strong voice as the familiar face of Richter Belmont appeared. He whirled the Vampire Killer in a sharp circle and charged straight through Walter, vanishing as he stood up only for another man to stand in his place, he had long silver hair and wore an elegant, red Victorian coat.

"Insipid creature," he muttered, suddenly breaking into a run and becoming all but a blur as he too slashed through Walter. Just as with Richter, Juste seemed to be replaced by the next Belmont, positions identical. The next warrior was a muscle-bound man with wild red hair, dressed like a barbarian, his sparse clothing consisting of leathers and furs.

"Die, accursed beast!" roared Simon in his deeply masculine voice, slamming the whip down in a brutal vertical arc leaving a very noticeable gash across Walter's demonic body.

Simon was gone even as he straightened up, now possessing straight brown hair and handsome features, but every inch of his leather armor was covered in all manner of weaponry, and coupled with his smirk, he was immensely intimidating.

"Not even a challenge," Trevor whirled the Vampire Killer in front of him and charged, cutting Walter like a buzzsaw and flipping away nimbly only once the whip had lost all of its momentum.

As the last Belmont set foot on the ground where Trevor would have landed Walter's eyes, widened.

"No! Not you! Anyone but you!" he gasped hysterically.

Leon Belmont, his blond hair neat as ever, and his red and white armor pristine, looked up at Walter's demonic face with disgust. The Vampire Killer in his hands burst into flame as the first Belmont to ever hunt vampires swept it up toward Walter's throat. Leon slowly began to fade and the spell ended.

Suddenly able to move again, Walter collapsed. He was grievously injured and had begun reverting to his human form.

But he had survived.

"I'll not die this time!" he wheezed, his eyes fixed on the Crimson Stone, glowing from its place on a chain around Dracula's neck. "_I will be the new King of the Night!_" he shrieked. With one last burst of strength, he charged at the Dark Lord and grabbed the Stone.

He roared in victory.

He had won.

"_Vengeance is mine!_"

He had defeated that vile, usurping worm, Mathias Cronqvist.

"_Prepare to meet your destiny, Cronqvist!_"

He had—

"Goodbye."

—SRRRKHH—

He had neglected to step away from his nemesis.

And it quite literally cost him his head. The true Dark Lord drew his hand back to his side from its outstretched position just above Walter's neck. The hand clutching the Crimson Stone slipped away as the rest of Walter's body collapsed.

"Re…venge…" Walter's head croaked; a hollow and pathetic sound.

"Foolish pawn," Dracula drawled before setting himself down on the edge of his coffin. He almost looked…tired.

"Finish him while you have the chance," Charlotte ordered, hoping that her soft voice still had an air of authority about it. To her delight, Jonathan immediately advanced on the other vampire.

"Wait! Not yet."

Jonathan whirled around and Charlotte turned her head to see someone they had _not_ expected to be there.

At that moment several things happened at once.

Alucard stirred, suddenly pitching forward and leaping to his feet, his mind still tuned for battle.

Someone threw open the chamber doors and rushed inside.

The translucent form of Leon Belmont began advancing toward Dracula.

And Charlotte screamed.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: I have left off here at an <strong>_**awful**_** cliffhanger haven't I? Well, I'm not telling you what's going on because he scene coming up is one of the main reasons I wrote this fic. However…I feel as though I may have rushed through that last scene. I'll probably come back to edit it later when I'm less anxious to see it finished.**

**I'll see you all in mid-January! Merry Christmas! Happy belated Hannukah! Happy Holidays to everyone!**


	24. Ch XXIV: Conversation with a Vampire

**Author's Note: Still not quite done. This is more of an interlude between the climax and the end of the story. A little curio before the tale comes to a close. But I don't really have much to say beyond that, so I'll just continue with the story.**

**Special Thanks to the Lord Destroyer for his/her motivation. Though I'd like to point out that this is still fanfiction and I technically don't have to do any of that, and what you wrote was rude and hurt my feelings. However. The story is already finished, so I really should have posted much, **_**much**_** sooner. No excuse. Also, I apologize, but your outcome isn't happening. Already written and all that. It has been since early January…again I apologize.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter XXIV<strong>

**Conversation with a Vampire**

"Charlotte! What's wrong?"

"Where's Bernhard?"

"Adrian, calm down!"

"Put a stop this incessant noise."

"My tongue! I cut it! I have fangs!"

A cacophony of voices pervaded the crimson room.

"Mathias…I pity you."

"Maria, why are you—?"

"Fools, be quiet!"

"You're hurt, why shouldn't I be here."

"Bernhard's been decapitated, so just calm down."

"Jonathan, you have to kill me right now, before I change any more."

"_Silence, imbeciles!_"

The room fell silent as the Count's voice pierced through the commotion. They all turned to look at him as he glared at each and every one of the speakers.

"How are you here?" he demanded pointing at the spectral form of Leon Belmont. His arm shook, though whether it was because of shock or lack of strength, no one could determine.

"Just as Sara is the Vampire Killer's soul, I am its memory. I am still with my beloved."

Dracula seethed with indignation, his hands balling into fists.

"So…even after all that transpired between us, you still received a happy ending. God truly does enjoy tormenting me."

"You have nobody to blame but yourself for your obsessive need for compensation, Mathias. It was unjust for Elizabetha to be taken from you, and the men and women who murdered Lisa were the scum of humanity, but you have no right to declare war on us as a whole. Your son, who witnessed the act himself forgave humanity; why could you never do the same?"

"You haven't the first idea how it feels to have the things you care about most in the world taken from you!" Dracula hissed through his teeth, showing his fangs, "What right do you have to judge me, Leon?"

"I know exactly how it feels, or have you forgotten?" Leon stepped forward, "You used Walter to take Sara away from me yourself. I lived out the rest of my life without her at my side. I was only reunited with her when I bonded myself to the whip on my deathbed."

"I—"

"No, Mathias," Leon interrupted, "you have nothing to say to justify your actions this time."

"How would you know when you refuse to allow me to put a word in edgewise?"

"Because, I've heard all your excuses before. With each of my descendants who've fought you, you've told the same stories of how God takes everything and gives nothing in return. I needn't hear it again just so you can tell me in person. I'm here only to beg that you simply try to forgive humanity."

"I will never change the path I've set for myself," Dracula hung his head in exhaustion, his bangs hanging over is eyes, "It is far too late for that."

"Is it though?"

Dracula was about to respond when there was a flash of bright blue light. The next thing he knew, he had been swallowed by Death's cloak.

"Charlotte…I—I can't do this."

Jonathan's knife shook in his hands.

"Hurry up! I'll lose my nerve!" Charlotte began to squirm, gripping Jonathan's hand tightly. "Coward…your grandfather cut out Dracula's throat and I'm going to be just as vicious as him in only a few weeks, so if you can't do this, you can't do anything!"

"No matter how much you try to piss me off, nothing you could ever say or do to me would ever make me want to kill you, Char. I _need_ you! And I mean that in more than a romantic way. Without you, I'd be a high-school dropout with no sense of responsibility—I'd be totally screwed!"

"There's nothing you can do now, you idiot. I want to be with you. I really do. But that's impossible. Walter ruined that for us."

"Hey, I don't know the whole story, but I take it that you got bitten?" Maria asked Charlotte, kneeling down beside her across from Jonathan.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, give me your spellbook," Maria said confidently, snatching the _Book of Binding_ out of Charlotte's hands.

"Hey, give that—"

"The spell was called Sanctuary, right? Yeah, that was it," Maria continued, not waiting for an answer, finding the pages detailing the spell, and without hesitating, she began chanting the aria.

"Maria, you can summon, but you didn't show that much magical aptitude aside from that particular area. You'll just get hit with a rebound. You could get hurt!" Charlotte argued frantically. Maria didn't stop. She completed the incantation and smiled.

"Don't you believe in miracles?" she asked. Charlotte just stared back at her, her face a picture of pure misery, not at all prepared to see her friend die as the spell backfired.

As if on cue, a soothing blue light flowed out across the room. Death swooped between the spell's origin point and his master, blocking the majority of the spell's power at the cost of his physical form. Once again, he vanished.

Alucard gasped. Although he otherwise would not have remained conscious after being in contact with the spell in his present condition, he was too astonished to see Maria using it to allow the welcoming blackness to take him.

Charlotte just gaped, though she passed out almost immediately.

As the light faded, the room's occupants returned to their previous activities.

"Just for the record," Maria smiled at Charlotte's momentarily unconscious form, "I certainly do."

"What just…happened?" the girl in question asked groggily. "Wait a minute…" she sat bolt upright, her eyes practically bugging out of her head, "You used…I wasn't out long was I?" Jonathan shook his head confirming her assumption, "But that shouldn't be…" she moved her tongue around in her mouth, already noticing that it was no longer bleeding, "No fangs…No fangs! No fangs, no fangs, no fangs! I'm not a vampire!" She pulled the knife out of Jonathan's hand, tossing it away before throwing her arms around Jonathan, "But you…how did you—?"

Charlotte kept stammering and Maria continued to smile back at her, unaware of Alucard's suspicious gaze.

"Mathias, you must admit that those children are possessed of great talent for ones so young."

"I've fallen at the hands of every living being in this room with the exception of the girl with blonde hair, though she dresses similarly to a woman who once befriended my son. She helped destroy me twice. Vile creature."

"Father, you will withdraw that statement _this instant_!" Alucard fumed, his focus on Maria broken and his sword already at his father's throat.

Leon stepped back out of reflex. "I'd do what he says. The boy looks serious."

"I'll have you know that I am over five hundred years older than you ever lived." The prince snarled, eyes narrowing.

"And I have no reason to doubt that. Nevertheless, you still strike me as being a boy. As for the other thing—" he turned back to face Dracula and gestured toward Alucard with his eyes.

"Very well," he growled, "My…apologies," he spat the word out as though it were poison. "I shall refrain from making remarks about that particular woman."

Without another word, Alucard slid his heirloom sword back into its scabbard and returned to eyeing Maria warily.

"Even before you met Elizabetha, you were so vibrant, so full of life," Leon remarked with an air of regret, "Now you've spent over seven hundred years cursing God, and look at what's become of you."

"What's become of me? I have become The King of the Night! The Lord of Darkness! I have since become a being that possesses nearly limitless power, and you _pity_ me?

"Perhaps you _have_ attained great and terrible powers, but that is not what I see when I look at you."

"Then pray tell me what exactly you _do_ see?" the Dark Lord demanded.

"I see a tired, miserable old man without any reason to continue. You've grown tired of living, haven't you? I can see right through you, Mathias. Nothing has come from spiting The Lord. Your actions have not returned Elizabetha or Lisa to you. I can't imagine that you would actually want to continue this way."

Dracula looked away for a moment before turning back to face his old friend. A woman now stood beside Leon dressed in a robin's-egg blue gown with her long hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head, though she still kept most of her chocolaty locks down.

"Remember how you used to tell stories of odd events that took place during your campaigns?" she asked cheerfully.

"And what does that have to do with my present condition?"

"Nothing at all, I just imagined it would lighten the atmosphere."

"I remember mostly that Leon would have a squad of knights that would charge into battle without thinking."

"That was true, but it would occasionally lead to amusing outcomes, if I recall correctly," Sara observed.

"Such as the gypsy fiasco."

Dracula held back a chuckle, but still allowed himself a smirk, "The wonders of incompetence. Twenty of your regiment thought they had found a bandit encampment and we gave them permission to raid it. None of them made it back. By my memory, when we found them, those that weren't as drunk as sailors were already passed out. They had all somehow 'lost,' their military crests, most had spent all of the money they had on hand, and none of them had horses any longer."

"I think I was too lenient with them on that occasion," Leon admitted, "It was their own fault that the nomads were able to rob them blind. They were lucky to still have their swords and armor."

"Idiots. Roma aren't all thieves you know," Charlotte called over to the trio of ancient acquaintances.

"Roma? Whom do you speak of, witch girl?"

"Leon, what does she mean by that word?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, Sara…"

Charlotte sighed in exasperation.

"Roma, is the Gypsies name for themselves. In their language, it just means 'person.' 'Gypsy' is just a name that your people came up with for them."

"My, such a well-versed young lady," Sara remarked proudly, "are women allowed to attend universities in these times?"

Charlotte bristled, her hands balling into fists and her shoulders tensing. She took a deep breath, "Calm down, Charlotte," she said to herself, "They're medieval nobles; they're not rude, they're just idiots."

"Pardon me, young lady, but I will not allow you to talk down to my Sara," Leon responded, looking positively scandalized.

"Don't get mad; just educate them," Charlotte continued to herself. Slowly she relaxed her tensed muscles and strode over to where the two nobles and their former companion stood. She had only gone a few feet before her legs nearly gave out however, and she needed Jonathan to catch her and support her the rest of the way.

"Yes, women are allowed to get an education these days. I, however, was reading at the age of two. This registered a look of surprise from, of all people, Dracula. She noticed Alucard had quirked an eyebrow as well, once again, turning away from Maria who had gone over to stand at his side.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte groaned.

"Nothing, I assure you. My mother was also a very intelligent woman, but she was still only reading by the age of…" he trailed off, his memory blank.

"Eight years, by her account," Dracula finished Alucard's thought, prompting a nod from the latter.

"From what I've read, Lisa Fahrenheits Tepes lived over five hundred years ago. For a girl to be reading at eighteen would have been impressive enough. Eight would have been unheard of. Unfortunately, that was just another reason the scum-for-brains witch hunters targeted her," she ignored Dracula's darkening expression. "I'm just glad it's not dangerous for girls to be smart anymore. I'd have been killed at, like, ten. Aside from the fact that I actually _am_ a witch."

Leon, not unaware of Dracula's usual demeanor returning, decided it was time to step in before the young witch caused any more damage.

"Remind me, Mathias, how did you route the thieves that attempted to steal from the manor belonging to Elizabetha's father? I remember that the results were greatly amusing to watch, considering they all ran away screaming like frightened children, but I can't remember what you did."

"I never told you, that's why you can't remember. But you are correct; it was just as amusing on the inside as it was on the outside."

"What did you do, then?" Sara asked eagerly. By this point, everyone in the room had gathered around the trio of nobles to listen in, almost completely disregarding the fact that one of them was the Dark Lord himself.

"You see," Dracula began pleasantly, clearly in his domain of rhetorical expertise, "Her father's home had a number of gaps in the woodwork of the second floor."

_Her father's home had a number of gaps in the woodwork of the second floor. They opened up right into the floor below; some were big enough that you could fall clean through them without grazing the sides. Shoddy workmanship on the part of the architect I assure you, very shoddy indeed. The wood used to build the floors and ceiling was taken from the ruins of an old castle in Scotland and relayed in the manor, with beams of wood placed over them to ensure nobody fell through._

_History being repeated is a folly. Reusing it is not _always_ an issue, but when the materials have been left exposed to the elements for over fifty years, it's simply idiotic. The floors all needed to be replaced, or the entire second floor would fall through in a matter of years._

_After I was through discussing that matter with her father, Elizabetha and I began gathering information. The burglary was planned on a night that the house would be empty, with Elizabetha's parents staying with anther noble family for that week. The servants would not be cleaning the house that night, my father in-law having given them six days of the week off. As it happened, two of the seven robbers had posed as servants for several months to scout their quarry beforehand. The other five had never before set eyes on the place in their lives. This made it all the easier to sow distrust on the night of the burglary._

_We set out to make the place look abandoned. First, we removed all the oil in the houses. No lamps would be lit with any of her father's materials. The villains would fare well enough in the dark regardless. To cut costs, I opted to leave windows open rather than breaking them. Any window with hinges was left either open or partially unscrewed and hanging in what appeared to be precarious positions. I gathered up spider webs from the attics in both my own home and my father in-law's and both Elizabetha and I moved them. Very delicate work, but we were careful. We placed them all over the house, in doorways and window frames, on ornaments, under tables, etcetera._

"Sounds like he already was interested in the haunted castle thing even before he became a monster," Jonathan remarked offhandedly.

"I'll take that as a complement," Dracula hissed slyly, "You must admit that the eerie atmosphere has an ominous appeal to it however."

"I'm not so sure," Jonathan replied.

Charlotte frowned, "I'd never have _ever_ expected myself to say this, but shut up Jonathan, Dracula's talking." Jonathan tried to hold back a laugh, but failed spectacularly, rolling over on the floor and clutching his stomach.

Dracula's eyes immediately began shooting daggers at him, and Leon gave him an unsettlingly quizzical look. "Okay, sorry! Sorry! Continue. I can't have my girlfriend getting upset anyway, she's not in the best shape." He sat back up. He didn't really remember when they had all sat down, but he wasn't about to stand when he could sit.

"Wait, what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Charlotte demanded.

"And she called _us_ idiots," Leon grumbled.

"I think it's just hormones," Maria grinned, "they'll grow out of this eventually. Probably."

"Well…as I was saying before the imbecile hunter interrupted, having placed the spider webs I began tearing out the planks that covered up the holes in the second floor."

_Having placed the spider webs, I began tearing out the planks that covered up the holes in the second floor. I hired a team of men to dig up a crossroads where criminals had been buried. I should mention now that I was not at the peak of my career at this point in time. If I had been, the webs would have been placed last._

_The six skeletons that we found were the next props to be used in the 'display.' Elizabetha was actually very much against this bit, but it was my job to uphold the law, and if my plan worked the crooks wouldn't just fail to rob her family, they would actually come seeking refuge. I placed three of the skeletons in slumped positions against the walls of the first floor: One in the entry hall, one in the sitting area, and another in the kitchen by the servants' entrance, through which food and other household necessities were brought in from, and which was the robbers' most likely point of entry. The fourth I hung from hole in the ceiling by a noose in the study. I also set a trap. A rather obvious one at that, but still enough to terrify a superstitious thief. I also constructed a little mechanism that would bring a spear down from the ceiling by a rope attached to a panel in the floor. It would have the fifth skeleton impaled on it and it would land immediately in front of the man who stepped on the panel, so that in the moment after stepping on the trap, they would be staring the skeleton in the face from not even inches away._

_The last was less of a skeleton. It must have only been buried months prior, as it still had at least half of its flesh attached to it. In the kitchen, I made a similar trap to the one I built for the skeleton, but in this case, it was much simpler. The corpse would just fall on top of the man who triggered it. That would be enough to scare half the life out of anyone. The last touch after the spider webs and corpses were the ghosts. Fake ghosts, but who would know? They were just sheets with plaster skulls underneath them designed to sway in the wind as though they were moving around. I placed candles inside the skulls as well to ensure they were noticed. Hung from holes in the ceiling as the others were. I also had to test which floorboards creaked and which did not so that I could move between holes without provoking suspicion of human interference and I laid tarps across the usable routes. All that remained was to watch and wait for the thieves to arrive. I waited on the second floor with a list of ominous remarks to whisper from the holes in the ceiling, as well as my sword, should the intruders catch on and charge up the stairs to kill the one interfering with them. A sword…it's almost funny to think that I ever used one, considering the kind of power I now possess._

_I remember everything about that night in perfect detail…_

_I had seen the robbers from the window, and as I suspected, they made to enter through the servants' entrance. I immediately rushed to the corresponding hole._

"Well, come on then! Into the house before anyone sees," a large man with a gravelly voice ordered, "Jerry you go' the bags?"

"Yes sir, that I do sir," said a younger voice, presumably belonging to the one named Jerry. He had an Irish accent that made his voice stand out among the other thieves' Cockney.

"Good, pass 'em ou' then!"

"You're sure about this Jerry? What if we get caught?" came a meek sounding voice, also with an Irish accent.

"Well, nobody'll give us jobs. We're a couple of street rats. At least once this is over with we'll never have to work a day in our lives. Or if we do, we'll at least have some money to get credentials with."

"I-I suppose so."

"Er, mates," came a cynical sounding voice, "you sure you got the right 'ouse?"

"Yeah, why?" came two voices in unison, likely the ones that had posed as servants.

"Well, jus' look around. This place looks abandoned."

"Hey, yeah, you go' a point, really."

"No, Skaffer, we mean it, we don't know what this is! We've been here for six months!" protested the first servant.

"Really, then?" said the leader with the gravelly voice, now identified as Skaffer, "So you been loafin' abou' in some empty mansion for the pas' six months? I been buyin' you drinks every night for you to lay about doin' nothin' all day?!"

"That's not what we mean sir," said the second servant anxiously, "This place was lively as the middle o' town, it was! I haven't the foggiest idea how it could come to be like this!"

"Is…that…righ'?" growled Skaffer threateningly.

"We're telling the truth Skaffer," the second servant insisted vehemently, "We've been in your group thirteen years. You think we'd turn our backs on you all of a sudden?"

A sense of tension hung in the air before Skaffer spoke again.

"All righ', very well. But I'm paying close attention to you from this point on."

"Thank you sir," the first servant groveled.

There was a sudden scream from further in the room.

"Wha' is it boy? Did you see a spider?" taunted the only thief remaining unaccounted for.

Jerry's brother whimpered and there was a shuffling of footsteps as Jerry must have come to his brother's defense.

"N-No! We should leave. I don't want to be here any longer!"

"What did you see?" Jerry asked soothingly.

"T-There." Jerry's brother was likely pointing at the skeleton, something that was confirmed when several of the thieves cried out with fright.

"Wha' in God's name…" Skaffer growled.

"This has _most_ certainly never been here before!" yelped the first servant.

"I'll second that!" said the second, sounding slightly less panicked.

"Wha'evah," barked the seventh thief, "Jus' a dead body. I've made loads of 'em."

"Now now, Slyfe," Skaffer grumbled uncomfortably, for the first time not sounding completely in control of the situation, "We know what you can do. We'd jus' prefer it if you tried to cool down a minute."

Mathias raised his eyebrows. That was a name he had heard before. Slyfe was wanted for the murder of several whole families, each of whom were quite wealthy. He went after the rich. He didn't take anything; he didn't want anything. He just killed them. It was just his own personal agenda against anyone who had better circumstances. He only remembered one of the victims' names, but he suspected that would be enough. His sentence upon being caught was to be hanged, but as long as he died, Mathias saw no problems. He made a mental note to lure him upstairs later on.

"There's another skeleton in here too," the clever thief shouted from the entrance hall.

"Forget the bodies, le's just loot the damn place an' get out!" Skaffer grunted.

"Yes, sir," the two servants agreed in unison before voicing a question, "What about the ghosts?"

"Mother o' God, what _doesn't_ this hell'ole 'ave?"

"Well, they don't seem to be doing anything bu' staring at us, so I say, we don't bother them, and they prob'ly won't bother us," the clever one piped up.

Moments later one of them screamed.

"Damn it all! I was nearly just killed over here! It looks like the first person to come this way wasn't so lucky," it was the second servant, "Wait what am I saying?! No one could have gotten killed like this and rotted away. Never could have, I was here not four days ago! What the hell is all this?!"

"The Devil musta been here, tha's what! Only Lucifer himself coulda turned a lively place like this into a den of 'orrors," the clever thief crowed.

There was a shriek from the kitchen as the rotting corpse landed on Skaffer, and Mathias decided that it would be a good time to speak through one of the holes.

"_Join ussssssss…Death awaitsssssss you…_" he hissed.

Four out of the seven howled in terror. There was a thumping noise as the frightened intruders charged out of the house and ran, down the road to where Leon and Elizabetha were waiting, tumbling over one another in their haste.

"That takes care of that. Easier than I expected. I suppose they were all cowards in the end," Mathias applauded himself.

"Oh so you were the one responsible for all of this," came a familiar voice from the landing, "You see Kay, nothing to be afraid of. I thought I noticed holes in the ceiling. Did you put them there just to scare us off?"

Mathias just stared at Jerry, giving the almost-thief and his brother a quizzical look.

"Anyone home?" Jerry asked.

"Yes, I can hear you, and yes, I intended to frighten you all off down the road to where my friend is waiting to arrest them, but no, the holes are here because the wood is old. And you may want to move.

"What?" Jerry asked before being tossed aside as Slyfe charged toward Mathias. Kay immediately rushed to his older brother's side with a yelp.

"You're Cronqvist, are you not?" demanded the killer.

"Correct. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"A pleasure for _me_. Your 'ead'll be my biggest prize yet! He pulled a dagger from his belt and made to throw it at Mathias but had his arm knocked to the side by Jerry's brother as he released it. The dagger spun wildly across the hall and lodged itself in the floor.

"Poisoned daggers, I see. I'm afraid you're scheduled to be hanged for your crimes. Your own method would be so much more ironic however. So…" he plucked the dagger from the floor even as another flew right over his head, dodging effortlessly, "For future reference, _this_ is how you throw a knife."

Mathias tossed the knife back at its owner. It flew in a perfectly straight line and lodged itself in Slyfe's gut.

"Thank you, young men, you've assisted in the removal of a dangerous outlaw," Mathias grinned, a mischievous idea coming to him.

"Er, what?" Jerry asked, confused.

"Oh, yes, there was a four thousand crown reward for the one who assisted with that."

"So _you're_ the one who stole from my vault?!" Leon interrupted angrily.

"You're the one who left it open for four days."

"I had men searching the surrounding towns! Twelve men were branded!"

"It wasn't my concern."

"Of course it was! You're the one at fault!"

"As I understand it, Leon, you played some head games with the robbers before taking them in, but I never found out what you said to them exactly," Dracula changed the subject.

"Well I'm certainly never telling you now."

"What does what I did back then matter now? Everyone from that period bar myself is long dead. In any case, I want _all_ of you out of this chamber! I don't know why I bothered telling you that frivolous tale of my more naïve days."

"Mathias…I want you to remember what I told you."

"We'll see whether I choose to rest when and _if_ the time comes. Until the next time we meet, Belmont."

With that, Dracula lay back inside the stone coffin, and with a heavy crash, the stone cover flew back and slammed the case shut. Leon and Sara faded shortly thereafter.

"Well then, mission complete, I guess!" Jonathan spoke up cheerfully.

"Let's all get out of this castle then. It's sure to collapse in a matter of minutes after all," Maria suggested.

"Yeah, good point," Charlotte agreed, "Jonathan, do you think you could carry me? I don't want to fall down a flight of stairs," she frowned when she heard a chuckle.

"You just want me to hold you, don'tcha? Sorry, you were insulting me mercilessly earlier, so nothing doing," he paused, letting his words sink in before continuing, "Which isn't to say I'd ever even consider leaving you down here."

With a fluid movement, he slung Charlotte over his shoulder and began retracing his steps.

Maria grinned at Alucard, "Well, we should get going too," she began walking, knocking a skeletal monstrosity with twelve arms out of her way before turning around, noticing that her companion hadn't joined her, "Aren't you coming?"

Alucard glared at her, a look of pure disgust marring his usually serene features.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I think you know the answer to that," he spat. Without so much as a flourish, he pulled his cape around himself and disappeared, nothing but a faint trail of mist marking where he had gone.

"Oh no…" Maria moaned.

'_You've messed up big time, haven't you?'_ her successor grumbled acerbically.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: And they still haven't left yet… go figure. They'll still be leaving next chapter too. See Y'all next time.<strong>


	25. Chapter XXV: Departure

**Author's Note: In response to my two guest reviewers:**

**Lord Destroyer, you've gotta remember who's behind the wheels of this story, _and_ Mariabella's motor functions. You can trust me when I say I know the difference between predecessor and successor. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were looking for trouble with your 'holier than thou' criticism. Feel free to do it, just make sure you're right, or you'll be up a creek. **

**As for Jim, are you at all familiar with this site? I had posted the previous chapter quite recently when you reviewed. People don't come out with new chapters every day. The only people who do that are either mediocre, or really good. Usually the former.**

**Anyway, here is the final chapter! I may write an epilogue some time, but it's unlikely. It would probably just be a side-story.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter XXV<strong>  
><strong>Departure<strong>

"That was unnecessary," Charlotte grumbled half-heartedly, "I mean you could have at least warned me before you yanked me off my feet."

"I'm sorry, but you were asking for it when you tried to make me kill you. That was not fair in any way, shape or form."

"Fine, I was hard on you, but that's not an excuse to grab a lady without her permission!"

"There are so many things wrong with that statement beyond the fact that you actually did ask me to pick you up."

"I don't follow," Charlotte trailed off, "Oh! Gross! Is that what you're thinking!?

"Can you two just cut it out and get in the car!" Oliver urged them, "The sisters need medical attention really badly!"

"Well, we could, but Maria hasn't come back yet."

There was an ear splitting crash nearby as two of the towers began collapsing in on themselves.

"If she isn't back in five minutes, she's not coming back at all," Oliver groaned nervously.

"Seriously though, where is she?" Charlotte asked.

* * *

><p>"Alucard! I know you're here! You can't hide or ignore me forever!" Maria hollered into the tomb just off the castle grounds.<p>

She stood at the entrance tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'll knock this thing down if you don't come out now!" she threatened.

Still no response.

"I said it, and I _mean it!_" she roared, summoning her dragon, which began shooting fireballs at the elegant structure.

"What do you want of me?" Alucard hissed, materializing in front of her

"What do you think? I want you to come home with us!" Maria shouted.

"The home you refer to belongs to another," Alucard growled angrily.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you stole it!"

"What are you _talking_ about!?" Maria shouted stubbornly.

"You know full well what I'm referring to, Maria Renard!" Alucard roared, showing his fangs.

Maria gasped, tears filling her eyes. She had expected that if he'd been given enough time, he would have figured it out, but she was sure it wouldn't have been so soon. And she never expected how much it would hurt to see the disgust in his eyes as he looked at her. She'd seen it before when he destroyed demons and other monsters. Having it directed at her stung like venom.

"When did you realize?"

"You gave me many opportunities. You used a spell that Mariabella could never have cast properly. You also called me Adrian again. Even more obvious was when you destroyed that undead creature. Miss Fox wouldn't have even been able to stand the sight of it."

'_I knew he could tell right from the start…'_ Mariabella muttered internally.

"I never thought you would use the spell for this. Was this your plan all along? To steal a body that you were reincarnated into! You made a promise!"

"I _know_ I made a promise you dummy! I wouldn't have broken it if I had a choice!"

"Spare me your excuses."

"I got her permission! She was going to die if I didn't take over right when I did! Did you even _see_ the thing that was romping around the front gates?! Oliver can even confirm it!

"You could easily have told her how to defeat it."

"Could I have given her my reflexes? My magical know-how? The control I have over my summons? Ask yourself those questions, Tepes!" Maria demanded, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"That's _Farenheits_ Tepes!"

"I know _goddamn well _what your name is!"

Alucard didn't respond and Maria just stood silently, choking back tears even as she grit her teeth in irritation. Alucard was livid and she didn't know how to calm him down.

"I didn't want—"

"Not good enough!"

"I know I made a promise—"

"Well you should have kept it!"

'_This is ridiculous,'_ Mariabella groaned. "She swore on her soul that she'd teach me the spell!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, the words projecting themselves through her occupied vocal chords. Then everything went black.

She collapsed right in front of him.

"Maria!"

"Ughh…she just pushed herself out through our subconscious. I'm—I'm alright, just mentally exhausted."

"I don't believe you…I've had enough excuses."

"I actually did. I'm going to be spending all my free time teaching it to her," she said sleepily, "I'll need to learn how to imitate her perfectly in the meantime. She's telling me that if I'm going to be in her body, I need to remember how to act in front of her friends and family. So far, all I can remember is that she likes going out for something called 'ice-cream sodas.' I don't even know what those are!"

Alucard hesitated.

"What else has she told you to?"

"I can't remember off the back of my hand…" she mumbled, going silent for a few minutes, "I go out with some friends every Saturday to see something called a 'movie.' I don't know what those are either."

"Moving pictures. They're very…unrealistic."

"Please. I'm going to need help adapting until she can take her body back. I'm begging you to come with me, if for no other reason just for the feeling of familiarity."

He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Letting out a heavy sigh. There was no way of getting around this. Maria was stubborn to the very end. And evidently beyond that as well.

"Just think about it, Adrian," she said gently, "What wouldn't we both give to spend a little extra time together?"

Alucard exhaled, "It's not that simple, and that was the wrong thing to say."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Maria whined, which prompted much to her chagrin, a laugh from Alucard. Only a chuckle, but even so he was still laughing at her. "Stop it! Stop laughing at me!"

Alucard stood there, one eyebrow raised, having complied with her demand moments before she expressed her desire. "You never did truly grow up."

"Whaddya mean by that?"

"I mean that even as your skin folded and your hair turned white, your mind never aged a day."

"Hmph!" she huffed.

"You coped with old age quite well," Alucard said gently, his face softening, "I'll be lucky if I can do as well."

"Hmph. How old are _you_ gonna be when you get your fist wrinkle, huh? Nine hundred?!" the girl retorted haughtily, before rolling her eyes and cheerfully pushing the notion aside. "Do you want to know what the last thing I felt was back then?" Maria asked, circling around her centuries old companion, one finger pressed to her lower lip.

"Would you tell me whether I acquiesced or not?"

Maria grinned, "Yes I would, so I'll just come out and say it," she said jovially, "I remember looking at you, and feeling as though I were still a seventeen year old girl traipsing around a monster-infested castle."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you feel better than that back then," he apologized sincerely.

"I was eighty-seven years old!" she chided, "How bad could it be to feel sixty-five years younger for a few moments? Whatever, I don't need to know your opinion on that. It's probably weird anyway. We've gotta get back to Oliver's moving metal box anyway."

Alucard tensed.

"Forgive me, but I'd prefer to walk."

"Eh?"

"Worry not. I can keep up."

Maria felt a tug the edge of her consciousness upon Alucard's refusal.

"Mariabella wants to know if this has something to do with the sudden stop on the ride here."

* * *

><p>"I say we go and look for her," Charlotte said, tapping her foot impatiently.<p>

It seemed like a fairly simple issue considering that there was a limited area in which she could be found. Then again, without Dracula's power actively fueling the Castlevania's presence, that area could easily blink out of existence without even a moment's notice. The castle itself was coming apart already as it was.

"Couldn't we just drive around a bit and see if we find them?" Jonathan asked.

"If we're in a car, we'll miss her for sure!" Charlotte argued, "We need to search on foot."

"I'd like to take this moment just to remind you that you can barely stand up, much less comb a whole forest for one person," Jonathan drawled slyly. His comment earned him an electrically charged smack in the jaw.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" she hissed, bristling like a startled cat. To prove her point, she took several steps in the direction of the forest. And promptly fell over. "I hate you so much right now," she muttered, trying to look up at her partner but finding that the grass was getting in the way.

"Hey! 'Scuse me! Might I get a ride?" came a voice just beyond the treeline.

"Well, problem solved," Jonathan declared, "Great work everybody!"

Charlotte couldn't tell whether he was serious or being sarcastic, but what was most pressing on her mind at the moment was the fact that she was still on the ground. And every second she had to wait there was another second of lost dignity that she would be using to concoct diabolically harsh consequences.

"Okay, in you go Maria. I didn't know that this guy was coming with us too, though."

"We had a very…frank…exchange of opinions," Alucard said, leaving the matter hanging so that the younger man would have the opportunity to pace the floor over it later.

"Uh, pardon me, but I can't help but notice that _I'm still on the ground!_" Charlotte barked, her impatience finally getting the better of her.

"Ack! Sorry!" Jonathan yelped sincerely, hurriedly picking her up and carrying her to the car, where she dusted herself off and placed herself in a much more dignified position.

"Okay, do we have everyone?" Oliver asked. Not waiting for an answer, he started the car and began backing out, nearly dragging Jonathan off of his feet.

* * *

><p>It had been an hour, and still, barely anything had been said since the group got into the car.<p>

All things considered, it was getting a bit crowded. Loretta was sleeping on her back, taking up all of the back seat. Stella was sitting upright with her sister's head in her lap, but upon closer examination, they all found that she too was barely any more conscious than her sister. Maria was just pressed uncomfortably against the door. She had complained a bit at first, but the awkward silence quickly overcame her anyway.

"I'm still mad at you." Charlotte mumbled, even as she rested her head on Jonathan's shoulder.

"Not as mad as I am at our driver," grumbled Jonathan, who was nursing a bruise on his shin where it had slammed into the fender.

Oliver huffed indignantly. "I have a severely wounded girl in the back seat, and you guys kept me waiting anyway! I'm supposed to be patient, but letting those girls get hurt was grating on me. This is not how Mother Shanoa would have wanted me to conduct myself, but you forced me!" He grumbled. His grandmother was definitely frowning at him from heaven right now, he just knew it!

"I think you're just overly emotional," Jonathan replied snarkily.

"Bah!"

"Oh! I just spotted Alucard again!" Maria announced gleefully. No response.

"Just…thought I'd point it out…" she said, more subdued this time. Suddenly another part of the landscape refocused her attention. "Hey look! Dairy cows!"

"Can you please stop talking," Stella mumbled sleepily.

She quieted down more permanently this time.

* * *

><p>The sun was finally starting to rise when Jonathan started crying. He didn't actually make so much as a peep, but Charlotte noticed the shaking. When she tapped him on the shoulder to ask him what was wrong, he wrapped her up in a hug so tight that she had to wriggle up his body like a snake in order to breath again.<p>

"Could you let go a bit," she asked, "Need air."

Jonathan loosened his grip, but didn't actually release her.

"One might think that you're afraid that I'd disappear if you let go. And just in case that's actually the problem, I'm not."

"That's—not why I'm crying. I'm crying because I'm so glad you're _still_ here, even though I was sure that I'd end up going home by myself."

"You don't have to worry about that," she cooed gently, noticing that her shoulder was starting to fell a bit wet. He really was crying. "I'll always be right here to support you, no matter what, and I can make you a guarantee that nothing like this'll _ever_ happen again."

"Promise?" he breathed shakily.

"Cross my heart."

She smiled. Everything had worked itself out. That was when she remembered Loretta.

Stella's sister didn't wake up even once over the course of the ride home.

* * *

><p>It was mid-afternoon when they arrived back in Ithaca. There weren't a lot of people out, most of the students being at their classes at that time of day. Oliver immediately asked for directions to the hospital, which Jonathan game him without delay. Charlotte, eager to stretch her legs which she was happy to find working for her again, ran inside ahead of the rest of the group, demanding a stretcher, which a nurse promptly brought out.<p>

"You did a good job with the bandages," the nurse said approvingly upon seeing the sisters, "but how long did you wait to bring them here?"

"A few hours. We're so sorry, but there wasn't anything we could do!" she forced tears to well up in her eyes.

"What happened, exactly?"

"Well…" Charlotte thought fast, "We were in an old house outside of town, you see. We like exploring spooky old places like that. It's why we're all dressed up in these weird outfits. The armor actually tends to be useful in the case of collapsing floors and such. A-Anyway, we were going through a living room of some sort when this heavy bronze-looking chandelier broke off of its supports. And it fell—it fell on Stella and Loretta! We couldn't get it off for hours!" she burst into tears, collapsing on the ground. The nurses brought out another stretcher for the other sister, and they were both carted off to the ER while one nurse stayed behind with the clearly vulnerable young woman.

Charlotte was relieved when Jonathan told the nurse that he'd take care of his girlfriend, a word that she was positively thrilled to hear him use in reference to her.

As soon as the nurse was out of sight, Charlotte perked up.

"How was I?"

"I was almost convinced. Actually no I wasn't, not nearly. But that was only because the real story had a pretty big impact. I'm sure that they get people acting like you were all the time here though. Still, the overall performance was a solid eighty-five percent."

She sighed heavily, "I'll take what I can get. That was a touch-and-go performance."

A doctor walked out of the emergency room and headed over to them. Charlotte immediately turned her tears back on and asked if the sisters were okay.

"The girl with the damaged leg is in the operating room now. Her sister is awaiting surgery as well, but her injuries don't seem as bad as the young lady currently having work done."

"She won't be able to keep her leg…will she?" Charlotte asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"It's very unlikely," the doctor said. "As it stands, the most effective method of preventing severe infection is the removal of her leg just below her knee."

"Yeah, I thought so," she mumbled sadly.

* * *

><p>-52 hours later-<p>

"Ungh…my head…" she said as she woke up. Not recognizing her surroundings, she sat up quickly, looking around wildly before her gaze settled upon someone familiar.

"Loretta! You're awake! My baby sister's going to be okay!" Stella squealed happily, tripping over to her sister's bedside, using her left arm to support herself.

"Are we in a hospital? How are we already back?"

"Well, actually, you were out for two days. I've been eating and sleeping in this room this whole time though. I wanted to be here for you when you woke up."

"So the job's over?" Loretta asked with an exhausted smile.

"The job's over," Stella confirmed.

"We beat Walter?"

"We kicked his ass."

"Thank God. That was rough. My shoulder aches like crazy and I can't feel my legs…what'd they do to me?"

Stella hesitated. This was the part that she was afraid of. She was hoping that Loretta would bring the subject up later on, but thinking rationally, she knew that she would bemoan her injuries fairly soon after feeling them. It was simple human nature.

Loretta's eyes slowly widened, "Wait, it's only one leg I don't feel…" she looked at Stella who's fixed downwards gaze indicated that she must have found something incredibly interesting in the folds of her blanket.

"Oh no," she gasped, tears coming to her eyes. The sound of her heart beating frantically against her ribs filled her ears. "No, no, no, no, no, please let me be wrong," she whispered shakily.

Before she could give herself the chance to think twice, she ripped off the blankets covering her.

"No!" she sobbed, "No! How could– I don't–" she stammered as her brain tried to register the information that part of her left leg was simply no longer there. She collapsed back on the bed, flipping herself over and sobbing into her hospital pillow.

"I'm so sorry, Loretta! I—" Stella tried to continue, but she too found herself in tears. "I'm an awful big sister! This is my fault. It was my plan that got us up on that chandelier and I wasn't even able to get help you when it fell! I'm so useless!"

"S-Stella…?" Loretta asked shakily, turning over again, to face her sister.

Loretta's big sister crumpled to the floor, with her head next to Loretta's pillow.

"Oh Loretta, I'm so, so sorry!" she wailed.

"I think I'll just…leave this by the door," Jonathan whispered to Charlotte. Careful not to make any noise, he lowered a giant basket of flowers to the floor.

"That was surprisingly tactful of you," she responded quietly, kissing him softly on the cheek.

He grinned, "I'm not so stupid that I can't tell when someone's having a moment.

"Well, that's good to know. That wasn't true only a few years ago."

Jonathan rolled his eyes as they left the hospital. Morale was low, but they had hope for the future. They'd gotten rid of a megalomaniacal vampire, did the world a great service, and made a quick buck from it. Now all that was left was to catch up with their courses. He'd be needing a copious amount of help from Charlotte, or he'd be going back to Texas with a failing grade next Christmas.

But first…

"So," Jonathan began, "I told you that I wasn't dropping the subject, so as much as it pains me to do this, I'm putting you back on the spot: You were trying to make me stare at your tits for over _half the time we were in that godforsaken castle!_"

"No!" Charlotte screamed, tugging at her flowing brown locks.

There was no getting out of it this time.

**The End**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Extra Content:<strong>

**Jonathan: **Or is it?

**Charlotte: **Well, since this isn't Lords of Shadow, thank God, yes it is. If it were, you'd have been written as an unlikable troll, and the readers would have to pay extra to see the ending, which would turn out to be a travesty of storytelling. As it is, the writer is currently a better storyteller than the guys working at Konami. Until further notice at least.

**Jonathan: **Hey, you don't get to talk until you explain your actions.

**Charlotte: **Okay, you're going to drop this or you won't even be getting to second base tonight.

**Jonathan:** So…you're bribing me with a consensual action that is heavily related to showing them off…

**Charlotte: **Whatever! It's not like I told you we could go all the way.

**Jonathan: **You know what, I'm just going to cave.

**Charlotte: **Man proves once again that I can manipulate him by offering to let him touch me. I'll take something off if you never mention it again and buy me a box of gourmet chocolates.

**Jonathan: **Well, if you _hadn't_ just siphoned a measurable portion of my ego, that would have worked.

**Charlotte:**It was worth a shot. Anyway, here's the Last Word Disclaimer: Draconic does not own any part of this story.

**Scarlet: **Except for me, one of the dead guys, and a couple of xenophobic mermen who want you to get off their lawn.

**Charlotte and Jonathan: **Waugh!

**Charlotte: **Where the hell did you come from?!

**Scarlet:** Oh, I've been stalking you for days Char.

**Charlotte: **Uh, okay…eww.

**Jonathan: **Why are you twirling your hair around your finger like that while giving her puppydog eyes?

**Scarlet:** I'll just be straight about it. I'm crushing hard on you Charlotte. I can't stop thinking about you. I'm wet. All the time.

**Jonathan:** How is _that_ straight?! Seriously, that is _not_ straight. And Tee Emm I!

**Charlotte: **Oh God, the succubus wants me. I always knew I was too attractive for my own good.

**Jonathan:** I like you just the way you are. Get lost succubus, she's _my_ girlfriend.

**Scarlet:** Back off. You have the mental capacity of a fried banana.

**Jonathan:** Hey, I resent that!

**Charlotte:** No _you_ back off Scarlet; I don't like you _or_ your nymphomaniacal tendencies.

**Scarlet:** Okay, fine, but I'll be back for round three some day. Or round threesome day.

**Jonathan:** Okay, this is getting too weird. There's been more innuendo and sexual content in this end blurb than in the entire story.

**Scarlet:** But that's a _good_ thing! Don't make it end!

**Charlotte:** Too late. **The End**. So long everybody! Have a nice afternoon! And stay in school.

**Jonathan: **…Seriously, Char?

**Charlotte:** What? I mean it.

**Fin**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: This has been a long ride. Longer for you guys than for me, oddly enough. Thanks for reading everyone, and if you all enjoyed reading this half as much as I enjoyed writing it…then I will have enjoyed it twice as much as you. Tomorrow, a bright sun rises over Ithaca; so to all, a good night.<strong>

**I have one last message before I vanish from this realm of the late Castlevanian 1940s: Now that there has been a great adventure featuring the cast of Portrait of Ruin, a greater adventure featuring the characters of the two Sorrow games, I think its time that someone wrote an adventure for the characters of the Dracula X Chronicles and Symphony of the Night. **

**Or something featuring Trevor, Sypha, Alucard, Hector and Julia. I've wanted to see that team for a while. A guess Grant should join them as well. I've proven (for the second time in this fandom to my knowledge) that a villain doesn't have to be one of the games' cast to be interesting as long as they have some sort of plot, so to anyone who wants to accept either of these two challenges, I recommend that you start writing now.**

**So long everybody!**


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